Verizon Wireless and Cingular Sign Number Porting Agreement

BEDMINSTER, NJ and ATLANTA — Verizon Wireless and Cingular Wireless today announced that they have signed an agreement detailing how they will port customers' phone numbers between them once the first phase of local number portability takes effect on November 24, 2003.

The agreements address operational details, such as the troubleshooting procedures and communications protocols the carriers will follow during the porting process. While the Federal Communications Commission does not require carriers to sign such agreements in order to port numbers, Verizon Wireless and Cingular agreed that formal porting agreements would allow them to cooperate as efficiently as possible during the LNP process, which is in the best interest of their customers.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless is the nation's leading provider of wireless communications. The company has the largest nationwide wireless voice and data network and 36 million 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.  

About Cingular Wireless
Cingular Wireless, a joint venture between SBC Communications (NYSE - SBC) and BellSouth (NYSE - BLS), serves more than 23 million voice and data customers across the United States. A leader in mobile voice and data communications, Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover^SM, the wireless plan that lets customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Cingular has launched the world's first commercial deployment of wireless services using Enhanced Data for Global Evolution (EDGE) technology. Cingular provides cellular/PCS service in 43 of the top 50 markets nationwide, and provides corporate e-mail and other advanced data services through its GPRS, EDGE and Mobitex packet data networks. Details of the company are available at www.cingular.com.

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