Verizon Wireless Recognized As Call Quality Leader In Five Regions By J.D. Power And Associates

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. — When it comes to call quality, wireless users rate Verizon Wireless as the leader in five regions covering 44 states, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Wireless Call Quality Performance Study (SM), Volume 1, issued today.

The J.D. Power and Associates study measures call quality among the major U.S. wireless service providers in six regions based on factors that impact overall carrier performance. More than 27,250 wireless phone subscribers were surveyed by J.D. Power and Associates between July and December 2010 about their experiences with dropped calls, static/interference, failed connection on the first try, voice distortion, echoes, no immediate voice mail notification, and no immediate text message notification.

Verizon Wireless ranked highest in the following regions:

• Northeast Region, which covers Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.
• West Region, which covers Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
• Southeast Region, which covers nine additional states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
• Southwest Region, which covers Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
• Mid-Atlantic Region (where Verizon Wireless tied for the top ranking), which covers Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

“When we say we offer Verizon Wireless customers the nation’s most reliable wireless network, we mean it,” said David Small, vice president and chief technical officer of Verizon Wireless. “These awards are a demonstration of our company’s commitment to invest in our network: more than $6 billion annually; as well as the dedication of Verizon Wireless employees who plan, engineer, build and maintain our nationwide network. We remain committed to continuing our investment for our customers, both in our 3G network and in our 4G LTE network that we are rolling out across the country.”

Verizon Wireless’ Reliable Network*
Verizon Wireless has the largest and most reliable voice and 3G data network coverage area in the United States. Each year, Verizon Wireless aggressively invests billions of dollars in its network to stay ahead of the growing demand for the company’s voice and data services. Verizon Wireless’ ongoing network investment now totals more than $65 billion nationally over the past ten years.

In December 2010, Verizon Wireless debuted its new 4G LTE network in 38 major metropolitan areas, covering more than 110 million Americans. Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network is the fastest, most advanced 4G network in the United States. The company has committed to launch 140 additional 4G LTE markets during 2011, covering two-thirds of all Americans by the end of this year.

Stay up to date on Verizon Wireless’ latest network news, stories and information at www.youtube.com/VerizonWirelessTV or follow VZWNetwork on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VZWNetwork.

For more information about Verizon Wireless, visit www.verizonwireless.com.

* The company’s “most reliable network” claim is based on network studies performed by test men and women who conduct more than 3.5 million voice call attempts and more than 19 million data tests annually on Verizon Wireless’ and other national wireless carriers’ networks while traveling more than 1 million miles in specially equipped, company-owned quality test vehicles. For more information about Verizon Wireless testing, go to http://aboutus.vzw.com/bestnetwork/reliability.html.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s most reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving more than 94 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 82,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: 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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