Verizon Wireless To Enhance Customer Service Operations With Newest Call Center in Huntsville, AL

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Verizon Wireless, the wireless leader in customer loyalty and operator of the nation's most reliable wireless network, today announced it will open its newest call center -- a new $44 million state headquarters and call center facility in Huntsville, AL --- in 2007.

Ground breaking on the 25-acre site for the state-of-the-art facility at the city's Thornton Research Park is expected by year's end, with hiring to begin in summer of 2007. Approximately 1,300 jobs will be housed there, including customer service, business sales and operational support functions. The plans were announced today at a news conference in Huntsville (http://www.verizonwireless.com/news/article/2006/09/pr2006-09-21d.html).  

"Today's announcement is further evidence of Verizon Wireless' leadership in the wireless industry — we are a strong and healthy growth company both in terms of serving customers and job creation," said Lowell McAdam, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Verizon Wireless. "We have added more customers in the past 18 months than any other wireless carrier, and our employee base has grown 10 percent in the past year, with more than 58,000 employees serving more than 54 million customers in 49 states."

Verizon Wireless is the wireless leader in customer loyalty and satisfaction, posting the lowest customer turnover rate of any national carrier and at the top of more third-party surveys of customer satisfaction than any of its competitors. The company has expanded its customer service capabilities to serve its growing customer base's demand for new services, including new data services. In the past two years the company has added five new customer service centers, including locations in Albuquerque, NM; Hanover, MD; Charleston, SC; Wilmington, NC, and Chandler, AZ. Collectively, these centers employ more than 6,300 employees. Additionally, customer service center expansions in Columbia, SC; Atlanta, GA; Southfield, MI, and Dublin, OH collectively increased the employee base by more than 730 employees. The Huntsville center is the company's first call center in Alabama.

Verizon Wireless consistently ranks as one of the best places to work in the country. In the last year alone, the company has been recognized by many well-known organizations including:

• Working Mother magazine, 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers
• The Wellness Councils of America, Gold Well Workplace
• IDG's Computerworld, Best Place for IT
• DiversityBusiness.com, Tops for Diversity
• Training magazine, Training Top 100

Verizon Wireless is committed to offering customers the most reliable wireless service. The company has invested $30 billion in the last six years -- $5 billion on average every year since the company was formed -- to increase the coverage and capacity of its national network and to add new services. For more information about Verizon Wireless, visit www.verizonwireless.com.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 54.8 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, 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 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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