Verizon Wireless Expands Broadband in New York

ORANGEBURG, NY — Building on its successful strategy to provide customers superior wireless services in the United States, Verizon Wireless today announced the expansion of two award-winning services in the New York, one developed primarily for business customers, the other for the consumer market. BroadbandAccess — the only national wide-area wireless broadband Internet access service available in the United States — and V CAST, the nation's first and only wireless broadband multimedia service for consumers, are both available today throughout the Bronx and in Westchester County. Both services run on the company's high-speed EV-DO (Evolution Data-Optimized) wireless broadband network, the only national wireless broadband network available in the country today.

Already available in Manhattan, portions of Brooklyn and Queens, on southern Long Island and in Rockland and Westchester counties, this latest expansion covers all of the Bronx as well as southeastern Westchester including Yonkers, Mt Vernon, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, Scarsdale, Hartsdale and Rye.

In conjunction with today's expansion of the high-speed EV-DO network in New York, Verizon Wireless also announced new pricing for its BroadbandAccess service. Current and new customers with any monthly voice plan now can get unlimited BroadbandAccess for $59.99 monthly access with a two-year customer agreement — a $20 savings. For non-voice customers, BroadbandAccess is available for $79.99 monthly access for unlimited use with a one- or two-year customer agreement. The new pricing is available through December 31, 2005.

"BroadbandAccess takes mobility to a whole new level," said Charles Hand, president of Verizon Wireless' New York Metro Region. "Verizon Wireless' EV-DO network gives BroadbandAccess customers a superior wireless data experience while away from the office and full access to their corporate information, just as if they were attached via a high-speed wired connection, but with the freedom of true mobility. And with V CAST, consumers can access the latest in multimedia programming to stay connected, informed and entertained via their wireless phones."

BroadbandAccess service allows New York customers to connect wirelessly to the Internet via their laptops at broadband speeds, a convenient way to conduct business. BroadbandAccess allows customers to download a 1 Megabyte email attachment (for example, a small PowerPoint presentation or a large PDF file), or receive three digital pictures (each 400 x 600 pixels) in less than 20 seconds. Typical download speeds are 400-700 kilobits per second. Because Verizon Wireless' EV-DO network technology is backward compatible, customers who travel outside a BroadbandAccess coverage area with an EV-DO device will seamlessly switch to Verizon Wireless' existing NationalAccess service. The company offers several PC Cards for BroadbandAccess customers, including the UTStarcom Personal Communications PC 5740 for $99.99 with a two-year customer agreement.

Verizon Wireless' V CAST service enables consumers to access short video content on-demand, viewing current news, weather, sports and entertainment programming. With V CAST, customers can also download and play cutting-edge 3D games, watch music videos and concert performances from favorite artists, view short programs specifically designed for mobile phones and other video content right on their phones.

For $15.00 monthly access added to their Verizon Wireless calling plan, customers can get the V CAST VPak which includes unlimited access to a wide array of more than 300 daily updated video clips from leading news, sports, weather and entertainment content providers. Unlimited basic short content is included, but application download fees apply for 3D games, premium video short content, and all other Get It Now® applications. There are no airtime charges to download, stream or watch V CAST content. Customers can also download, stream or watch premium short video content, available at additional cost, which includes video such as music videos, select sports clips and mobisodes.

BroadbandAccess and V CAST run on Verizon Wireless' EV-DO network, which began commercial operation in October 2003 in San Diego and Washington, D.C and is now the only national wide-area wireless broadband network in the country. Verizon Wireless' EV-DO network initially made its commercial debut with BroadbandAccess wireless Internet access service for business customers and mobile professionals. The company launched its V CAST wireless broadband multimedia service in February 2005.

Verizon Wireless has invested more than $4 billion annually on the build-out and enhancement of its networks since the company's inception in 2000, and last year alone it invested $5 billion, including build-out of the wireless broadband EV-DO network. In the New York Metro area, Verizon Wireless invested more than $475 million in network enhancements in 2004.

Customers can access V CAST on several new phones including the LG VX8100 — with its full-motion short content with audio streaming and downloading and playback capabilities, available for $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a two-year customer agreement.

For more information on BroadbandAccess and V CAST from Verizon Wireless, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com. Business customers can contact a Verizon Wireless business solutions expert directly at 1-800-VZW-4-BIZ.

(EDITORS: Broadcast-quality B-roll footage featuring BroadbandAccess and V CAST is available online. Log on to www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia to preview and request video segments, which can be received in newsrooms digitally, by tape or via satellite.)

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 47.4 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

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