Verizon Wireless Extends Wireless Broadband Network To Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania

LEHIGH VALLEY, PA — Continuing to build on its strategy to provide business and individual customers superior voice and data networks in the United States, Verizon Wireless today announced the expansion of two wide-area wireless broadband services to the Lehigh Valley, BroadbandAccess and V CAST. With the expansion, Verizon Wireless customers will be able to access the nation's largest high-speed wireless broadband network while traveling throughout Lehigh and Northampton counties, including Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton. Both services are based on the company's Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) network technology.

Verizon Wireless' BroadbandAccess service, available to half the nation's population, delivers average connection speeds of 60 to 80 kilobits per second. The service features the ability to connect to the Internet using a PC card that slides directly into most laptop computers and enables a download of a 1 Megabyte e-mail attachment (the equivalent of a small PowerPoint presentation or a large PDF file) in about 20 seconds. Verizon Wireless was the first national wireless provider to commercially launch a high-speed wireless broadband network in the United States.

"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 the Lehigh Valley," said Christine Baron, Philadelphia Tri-State Region president for Verizon Wireless. "With BroadbandAccess, Lehigh Valley mobile professionals and business customers will now be able to take their desktop experience virtually wherever they go, allowing them to wirelessly access their Outlook calendars, the Internet, e-mail and critical business information residing behind corporate firewalls."

As an example of the productivity benefits the company's wireless broadband provides to mobile and business professionals, construction supervisors can capture important details about building projects and wirelessly transmit the information to the contractor; food and beverage company representatives can re-order stock wirelessly while at the point of sale, and physicians can write prescriptions, enter orders and manage other tasks via BroadbandAccess-powered PDAs or laptops.

The company's high-speed network also enables its V CAST multimedia service, which offers consumers the ability to download full song tracks right to Verizon Wireless phones or via PCs with XP operating software. The V CAST Music on demand service includes access to a catalog of more than 1 million songs and also offers video content on-demand, including current news, weather, sports and entertainment programming. V CAST also allows customer to download and play cutting-edge 3D games for an additional charge. To access V CAST video content and games, customers need a V CAST-enabled phone and a $15.00 monthly subscription added to their Verizon Wireless calling plan.

BroadbandAccess and V CAST run on Verizon Wireless' EV-DO network, which began commercial operation in October 2003 in San Diego and Washington, D.C. The EV-DO network initially made its debut with BroadbandAccess wireless Internet access service for business customers and mobile professionals. The wireless broadband network was rolled out in the City of Philadelphia, portions of southern New Jersey and Delaware starting in late 2004. The company launched its V CAST service in February 2005.

For a limited time, Verizon Wireless customers with a new or existing voice plan can receive unlimited BroadbandAccess for $59.99 monthly access for Internet browsing, email and intranet access. A new 2-year customer agreement is required. For non-voice customers, BroadbandAccess is available for $79.99 monthly access for unlimited internet browsing, email and intranet access with a new one- or two-year customer agreement. The company's BroadbandAccess service is also available as an integrated option on select notebook computers: Dell (Latitude 620 and 820), Lenovo (ThinkPad Z60, T60 and X60) and HP (Compaq nc6140).

Verizon Wireless has invested $30 billion in the last six years — $5 billion on average every year since 2000 when the company was formed — to ensure network reliability and increase coverage and capacity. The investment has also allowed the company to add new services like BroadbandAccess and V CAST. In the Philadelphia Tri-State Region, which includes the Lehigh Valley, the company has invested more than $250 million over the past 15 months in its wireless network.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 53 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, 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. 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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