Mobile Content Is A Star At Verizon Wireless

LAS VEGAS, NV, and BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Wireless consumers increasingly use their phones, smartphones and other mobile devices for much more than simply making calls. In fact, according to results from the final quarter of 2008, data services (including multimedia and messaging services), represented nearly 27 percent of Verizon Wireless’ service revenue, an increase of more than 41 percent over the same period just one year ago.

Mike Lanman, vice president and chief marketing officer at Verizon Wireless, said, “We continuously invest in the Verizon Wireless network, not only to provide our customers with the most reliable voice calls in the country, but also to make sure they can access mobile tools, applications, information and entertainment that help our customers stay connected to the people, places and information they care about.”

From CTIA WIRELESS 2009®, the nation’s leading wireless provider offered these updates and facts about our consumer multimedia services, many of which customers can access on phones they already own:

V CAST Video

• More than 135 full-length programs from all the leading broadcast and cable providers are available on V CAST Video-enabled phones.
• Verizon Wireless has debuted 35 full-length programs on V CAST Video since the beginning of the year.
• Programs from nearly 40 providers available on V CAST Video are also available on other Verizon platforms (FiOS video-on-demand).

V CAST Games

• Customers can access more than 15 exclusive mobile game titles on their mobile devices, including “MLB 2009 3D,” “Sally’s Spa,” “Tekken 2™ (3D),” “3D Metal Gear Solid® Mobile,” “Cleopatra’s Treasures.”
• There are more than 300 mobile games available for download, including best-sellers “Guitar Hero® World Tour,” “Tetris®,” “PAC-MAN®” and “The Oregon Trail.”

V CAST Music

• VZW Tones and V CAST Music with Rhapsody offered more than 30 exclusive titles in March 2009.
• Song ID, the popular application that lets customers identify and purchase songs when they hear them, has been downloaded more than 12 million times.
• More than 5 million songs are available in the V CAST Music with Rhapsody library.

Get It Now®/Media Center

• Verizon Wireless offers more than 500 unique applications in its Media Center.
• Business customers can access dozens of applications made just for them, including PayPal Credit Card Terminal, Field Force Manager, TimeCard and iDatebook.
• For the socially-connected, Mobile Web and other applications provide easy access to more than 25 social networking sites.

Text, Picture and Video Messaging

• Verizon Wireless customers sent and received more than 90 billion SMS messages in the fourth quarter of 2008 – that’s an average of more than 1 billion messages every day.
• More than 1.8 billion picture and video messages were sent in the fourth quarter of 2008, nearly double the number from the fourth quarter of 2007.
• Staying in touch during the holidays: New Year’s revelers sent and received more than 3.2 billion messages on the 2008 New Year’s Eve and 2009 New Year’s Day holidays; on Valentine’s Day 2009, customers sent and received more than 1.4 billion messages, while the luck of the Irish inspired customers to send and receive more than 1.35 billion messages on St. Patrick’s Day this year.

Verizon Wireless currently offers more than 30 phones that give customers access to V CAST Video and Games, 20 with access to V CAST Music, nearly 30 with access to the Media Center – about 10 of these phones offer customers access to all of the services, giving them access to Verizon Wireless’ entertainment and information features in the palms of their hands. In addition, nearly all of these devices also offer messaging services. For the budget-minded, these phones are available in a range of prices, from free (after rebates) to $199.99 (after rebates).

For more information about video, multimedia, and other entertainment and information services from Verizon Wireless, 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 and largest wireless voice and data network, serving more than 80 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 85,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, visit 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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