Verizon Wireless To Celebrate Grand Opening Of Its First Communications Store In Hoboken, New Jersey, May 16

HOBOKEN, NJ — In response to the growing demand for the company's voice and data products and services, Verizon Wireless will celebrate the grand opening of its first Communications Store in Hoboken on Saturday, May 16.

Located at 93 Washington Avenue, across from City Hall, the new 2,000 square-foot store is the first Verizon Wireless store in Hoboken and incorporates the company's new interactive retail design in a sleek, full-service environment. Store hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The store is closed on Sunday. The store phone number is 201-656-2870.

Store Manager Francis Gallic is inviting local residents and area businesses to stop by the store, join in the festivities and experience everything the new store has to offer.

The celebration begins on Saturday, May 16, when the first 20 customers will receive $25 Verizon Wireless gift certificates and families will be entertained by a caricature artist and a clown. Refreshments, special in-store promotions and a chance to win dinner for 10 at Dallas BBQ also will be available from noon to 4 p.m.

"We want to encourage customers to stop in and take full advantage of our interactive retail design to experience the latest wireless voice, data, music and video services first-hand," said Gallic. "We have a lot of fun activities planned for the weekend but, more importantly, we want our customers to know that our staff is here everyday to help them choose a product that meets their needs and select a price plan that fits their lifestyle. Our sales team and technical staff work one-on-one with customers to help them get the most value for the least cost."

The new store offers consumers a broad range of services and equipment, including popular devices like the BlackBerry® Storm™ and new service features including Verizon Wireless Friends & Family® which lets customers on eligible calling plans enjoy unlimited calling to up to 10 numbers on any network, anytime, anywhere in America without using plan minutes. In addition, Friends & Family for Business and Verizon Wireless business solutions, like unlimited e-mail and Web browsing plans, will be more convenient for local business people.

In honor of the new store, Gallic will present a $2,500 Verizon Wireless HopeLine® donation to The Hoboken Shelter. Since 1982, The Hoboken Shelter has taken a holistic approach to helping people in need. It shelters 50 people nightly, serves 200 meals daily and provides a host of support services including case management, counseling, job and life skills training and creative arts workshops.

Gallic encourages local residents to stop by the store and drop off old, no-longer-used wireless phones and accessories to HopeLine which collects used cell phones of any make or model, from any wireless carrier. Phones are recycled or sold and the proceeds are donated in the form of cash grants and pre-paid wireless phones to advocacy groups for use by battered women.

"As new members of the Hoboken community, we are pleased to contribute to this important neighborhood organization," Gallic said. "HopeLine is an innovative program that allows each of us to help protect families at risk and, at the same time, protect the environment by keeping electronic waste out of our landfills."

As the wireless customer loyalty leader over the past 18 quarters, Verizon Wireless offers customers many reasons to shop at its stores, kiosks and online. Verizon Wireless operates the nation's largest and most reliable wireless voice and high-speed Mobile Broadband data network and offers quality products and services backed by its award-winning customer service. To increase the coverage and capacity of its premier nationwide network and to add new services, Verizon Wireless has invested more than $50 billion since it was formed in 2000.

The Hoboken Communications Store is the third to open in Hudson County and is one of more than 150 Verizon Wireless interactive retail locations in the New York Metro area. For store locations and additional information, visit www.verizonwireless.com/stores.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and data network, serving more than 86.6 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 86,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, visit 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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