Kansas City Area Network Enhancements Give Wireless Customers Something to Talk About

OVERLAND PARK, KS — In its continuing effort to provide the best wireless service in the Kansas City metro area, Verizon Wireless, owner and operator of the nation's most reliable wireless network, has added capacity to 17 existing area cell sites and activated a new cell site in Liberty, Mo., bringing BroadbandAccess service to its customers there.

The cell site enhancements improve network capacity in the following areas:

• Liberty—Residents now can experience Verizon Wireless' premier BroadbandAccess high-speed Internet service. Powered by an Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) third generation (3G) wide-area network, BroadbandAccess commercial service is the nation's largest high-speed wireless broadband network, with typical user download speeds of 400—700 kilobits per second (kbps).

Verizon Wireless users also will experience increased capacity along Church and Larfrenz roads, Brown Street and in downtown Liberty. Capacity also has been added north to Nashua Road, east to Missouri Highway 291, south to the Missouri river and west to Interstate 35.

• North Kansas City— Residents will experience enhanced capacity in and around 7609 N.W. Prairieview, N.E. 108th St., Chatham Avenue and Old Stagecoach Road.
• Gladstone—Customers in Gladstone will experience the benefits of increased capacity near Antioch and 71st St.
  Independence, Sugar Creek and Claycomo—Increased capacity is added along Missouri Highway 291, U.S. Highway 69 and Cobbler Road in Independence.
• Parkville—Increased capacity is added near Kelly Drive and N.W. 76th St. The capacity additions enable more customers in the Kansas City metro area to enjoy the company's popular voice and data services, including V CAST, TXT and Picture Messaging, BroadbandAccess high-speed wireless Internet access, and Get It Now® ring tones, games, productivity applications and more.

"Customers choose Verizon Wireless and stay with us because they know they'll get wireless service they can depend on," said Mark Crumpton, president—Kansas/Missouri Region, Verizon Wireless. "The company's investment in its premier wireless network and its strong focus on customer service are key to maintaining our customers' loyalty."

Reliable service is fundamental to customer loyalty, and Verizon Wireless boasts the highest customer loyalty in the industry. During the third quarter of 2005, only 1.3 percent of its customers disconnected their service, which is well below the industry average.

These recent enhancements in the Kansas City area are part of Verizon Wireless' continuous effort to increase capacity and enhance the quality of its wireless voice and data network. Verizon Wireless has regularly invested more than $4 billion nationally each year since its inception-and more than $8 billion in the past 18 months-to expand and upgrade its nationwide wireless network. Approximately $91 million of this investment was spent in 2004 to stay ahead of the growing demand for Verizon Wireless products and services in the Kansas/Missouri region.

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, N.J., 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 receive 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.

####