Verizon Wireless Completes More Than $256 Million In Texas Network Enhancements In 2006

AUSTIN, TX — Verizon Wireless announced today it has completed more than $256 million in enhancements to its Texas voice and data wireless network this year. The investment includes a significant expansion of its EV-DO high-speed wireless broadband network, as well as adding and updating cell sites and technology throughout the state. These network enhancements allow the latest generation of wireless technology including video messaging, games and multimedia content, handheld GPS-enabled navigation and the ability to download music over-the-air directly to a wireless phone.

Verizon Wireless made a significant expansion of its EV-DO high-speed wireless broadband network throughout Texas, including Sherman/Denison, Wichita Falls, Waco, Temple/Killeen and Bryan/College Station in North and Central Texas. The wireless broadband network was also extended to East Texas and the Gulf Coast region, including Longview, Tyler, Port Arthur, Corpus Christi and Victoria. To the south and west, EV-DO coverage expanded to Laredo, the Rio Grande Valley and El Paso.

"The most important thing to our customers is the reliability of our network, which is why we continue to invest millions of dollars each year to deliver the best wireless network in the country," said Luis M. Cruz, region president for Verizon Wireless. "By continuing to expand our EV-DO network in Texas this year, we have given Texans a fast, mobile and secure option for their wireless high-speed data needs."

Building on the expansion of the high-speed broadband network in 2005, Verizon Wireless further extended the network around the state's major metropolitan areas including additional cell sites in Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio.

The Verizon Wireless BroadbandAccess data network is the largest high-speed wireless broadband network in the nation. The technology enables average connection speeds of 400-700 kilobits per second (kbps), allowing users to download a 1 Megabyte e-mail attachment - the equivalent of a small PowerPoint® presentation or large PDF file - in about 20 seconds.

Verizon Wireless' continued network investment in Texas and throughout the country is key to maintaining the nation's most reliable network and meeting the needs of more than 57 million customers. The company has invested $35 billion in the last seven years — $5 billion on average every year since the company was formed and more than $6 billion in 2006 — to increase the coverage and capacity of its national network and to add new services. Network investment efforts for 2007 are already underway.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 57 million customers. The largest US wireless company and largest wireless data provider, based on revenues, Verizon Wireless is headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 60,000 employees nationwide. The company 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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