Verizon Wireless Adding Another 80 Jobs At Henrietta, New York Call Center

ROCHESTER, NY — Verizon Wireless, owner and operator of the nation's most reliable wireless network, announced today it is adding another 80 full-time positions at its Henrietta call center in the first quarter of 2006. The company hired 300 in the call center in 2005. The jobs are being added to meet the growing demand for the company's wireless voice and data products and services. The company is also seeking bilingual candidates to address the needs of Spanish-speaking customers.

The Henrietta call center now employs nearly more than 700 representatives. The company cites strong customer growth and the availability of a skilled local talent pool as the main drivers of the call center's continuing expansion. The call center handles customer inquiries from across Upstate New York, as well as overflow calls from other regions. Last year, employees answered more than 1.8 million calls in the center. Verizon Wireless currently employs more than 1,000 people in the Rochester area at its regional headquarters and call center in Henrietta, and in its 13 local communications store locations.

"Customer satisfaction is our number one priority at Verizon Wireless and we've been extremely fortunate to find such high-quality talent in the Rochester area." said Ken Dixon, Upstate New York Region President. "We've added to our employee base in the call center and our local stores several times over the last three years and the Rochester area continues to provide us with outstanding applicants. Today's announcement further endorses our commitment to Rochester and to maintaining superior customer service for our customers throughout the Northeast."

The new positions will offer highly competitive salaries and benefits, including health care coverage that begins on the first day of employment, participation in the company's 401(k) program, profit sharing, tuition reimbursement for continuing education, annual bonuses, and long-term incentive plans. Employees can also take advantage of numerous opportunities for career advancement. In addition, Verizon Wireless offers an exciting work environment and was recently named one of Working Mother magazine's "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" for the fifth consecutive year.

Verizon Wireless now serves more than 49.3 million customers nationwide and is the nation's wireless leader in customer loyalty, based on customer retention and turnover rates announced publicly by the largest wireless providers.

The company invests more than $1 billion every 90 days in its national wireless network to offer customers the most reliable service available in the nation. The company's "most reliable network" claim is based on network studies performed by real-life test men and test women who inspired the company's national advertising campaign. Those engineers make over 3.6 million test calls a year on the company's network and its competitors' networks, while driving more than 12 million miles annually across the country, including Upstate New York, in specially equipped vehicles loaded with more than $300,000 worth of sophisticated testing equipment that replicates the customer's calling experience. The company also has a comprehensive phone lab that does extensive testing of all wireless devices before they are approved for use on the network.

To apply online, visit the Verizon Wireless website at www.verizonwireless.com/careers. Or call 1-800-575-4473 (HIRE).

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 49.3 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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