Verizon Wireless Expands Local Wireless Broadband Network In Southern Delaware

WILMINGTON, DE — Verizon Wireless announced today it has expanded BroadbandAccess, its wireless broadband service, in Sussex and Kent Counties, giving local customers access to the latest high-speed business and entertainment services on their wireless phones, laptop and desktop computers, and PDAs.

Customers living in and visiting Sussex County, including Ellendale, Milton, Georgetown, Harbeson, Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, Millsboro, Dagsboro, Bethany Beach, and Keenwick can now access their e-mail, corporate data, the Internet, and more at broadband speeds — in their homes, on the road, or at the beach. The BroadbandAccess expansion also provides coverage along Routes 113, 1, 54, 9, 20, 24, 23, 18, and 5. In Kent County, the service is available on the western border, providing coverage along portions of Route 12 and Whiteleysburg Road (west of Harrington). BroadbandAccess will enable customers to view and download video clips on their phones, download music onto their handsets over-the-air, play 3D games, and send large data files at faster speeds as the company continues to expand the next generation of its high-speed wireless broadband network across Delaware.

"Verizon Wireless is focused on providing the best customer experience, and a major part of that commitment is making sure we continue to have the best, most reliable network," said Christine Baron, president of Verizon Wireless' Philadelphia Tri-State region. "This expansion is yet another step in our consistent focus on investing in our network reliability and providing innovative high-speed data services to our customers across the country and here in Delaware."

Based on Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Revision A (Rev. A) network technology, BroadbandAccess provides mobile professionals with the ability to access their corporate information as if they were attached to this data via a high-speed wired connection but with the freedom of true mobility. Developed with a range of users in mind, the service enables larges enterprises, small- to medium-sized businesses and mobile professionals to conduct business anytime, anywhere in the BroadbandAccess coverage area via a secure, true high-speed data connection.

Verizon Wireless' EV-DO Rev. A network launched in Delaware in February 2007 and was initially made available throughout most of the state, including the cities of Wilmington, Newark, Dover, and surrounding areas.

BroadbandAccess provides average download speeds of 600 kilobits per second (kbps) to 1.4 megabits per second and average upload speeds of 500-800 kbps, translating to being able to download a 1 Megabyte e-mail attachment — the equivalent of a small PowerPoint® presentation or a large PDF file — in about eight seconds and upload the same-sized file in less than 13 seconds.

"Our enhanced BroadbandAccess service gives our customers three key advantages in wireless communication: speed, mobility and security," said Baron. "With these advantages comes an increase in productivity and bottom-line business benefits."

The company's high-speed network also enables its V CAST multimedia services, offering customers the ability to download full-song tracks from a library of over 3 million tunes, play cutting-edge 3D games and stream video clips straight to their handsets with top transmission speeds. With content updated daily, customers can watch dozens of on demand videos, including breaking news, weather, sports highlights, and the hottest entertainment clips.

Verizon Wireless has invested more than $45 billion since it was formed to increase the coverage and capacity of its national network and to add new services like BroadbandAccess and V CAST. The company spent more than $235 million in 2007 to enhance services and coverage in the Philadelphia Tri-State region, which includes Delaware, bringing the total network investment to more than $1.5 billion since 2000.

BroadbandAccess is available for $39.99 monthly access for 50 MB of data usage, or $59.99 monthly access for 5 GB of data usage with a new one- or two-year agreement. BroadbandAccess service also is available as an integrated option on select notebook and laptop computers.

For more information about Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.  

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 67.2 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 69,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, go to: 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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