Verizon Wireless Customers in Richmond and Hampton Roads, Virginia, Get Faster New Wireless Broadband Network

LAUREL, MD — Verizon Wireless customers in Richmond, Petersburg and most of Hampton Roads can now access e-mail, everyday corporate data, the Internet and more at faster speeds, and upload files five to six times faster than before as Verizon Wireless rolls out the next-generation of its high-speed broadband network.

Richmond area communities covered include most of the cities of Richmond, Hopewell, Colonial Heights, and Petersburg, and portions of Chesterfield, Henrico, Goochland, Powhatan, Hanover and New Kent Counties.

Hampton Roads communities covered include most of Chesapeake, Franklin, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Smithfield, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg, as well as portions of Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City, Southampton, Surry and York Counties.

Based on CDMA 1x Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Revision A (Rev. A) technology, the enhanced wireless broadband network provides significantly faster data uplink speeds than the company's award-winning national EV-DO network rolled out in 2005 in Eastern Virginia.

With the new Rev. A network enhancements, the company's flagship business data service, BroadbandAccess, will provide average download speeds of 450-800 kilobits per second (kbps) and average upload speeds of 300-400 kbps. The improved speeds translate to downloading a 1 Megabyte e-mail attachment — such as a small PowerPoint^® presentation or a large PDF file — in less than 15 seconds, and uploading the same size file in less than 25 seconds.

Verizon Wireless regional president Tami Erwin said, "Our existing wireless broadband network has enabled customers to work remotely and stay entertained in unprecedented ways; now we're taking wireless to the next level by introducing technology that helps them send data from their mobile devices even faster."

The first two devices from Verizon Wireless that take advantage of faster speeds provided by these new network enhancements are the new compact USB720 wireless modem and the AirCard 595 PC Card from Verizon Wireless, which are fully compatible and backward compatible with the company's enhanced and existing wireless broadband networks and the company's NationalAccess network (based on CDMA 1xRTT technology). Customers purchasing either device will be able to get significantly faster upload speeds and improved download speeds when in an enhanced network coverage area. Either device can be purchased through Verizon Wireless local business sales representatives or online beginning Feb. 2 at www.verizonwireless.com.

The company's existing EV-DO network enables customers to access BroadbandAccess on their laptops, e-mail on their PDAs, and V CAST Video and Music on their wireless phones. The company's national wireless broadband network, the first in the nation, is already available to more than 200 million Americans in 242 major metropolitan areas and 180 major airports from coast to coast.

For more information about Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving more than 59 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 65,000 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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