Verizon Wireless Completes $82 Million Investment To Enhance Georgia Digital Network During First Half Of 2009

ALPHARETTA, GA — Verizon Wireless announced today that it invested $82 million in the first six months of 2009 on new cell sites, network facilities and numerous other projects to enhance services and coverage for wireless customers across Georgia.

Since 2000, the company has invested over $1.5 billion on network enhancements in Georgia, and more than $50 billion across the nation to expand and enhances its wireless voice and data network.

Highlights of these enhancements in Georgia in the first six months of 2009 include the activation of 27 new cell sites, several hundred network enhancements and the ongoing integration and upgrade of former Alltel Wireless network facilities into the larger and more advanced Verizon Wireless network.

New cell sites
New cell sites were installed and activated throughout Georgia to expand coverage and enhance 3G high-speed wireless services for customers. Multi-site projects were completed in cities such as Atlanta, Griffin and Covington. Many other individual sites were activated throughout the state in areas including St. Marys, Kingsland, Ft Stewart, Lake Oconee, Cumming, Suwanee/Sugar Hill, McDonough, Waynesboro, Richmond Hill, Warthen, Newton, Gainesville, Dalton, Sandersville, Franklin Springs/Royston and the Lake Spivey, Georgia Dome and World Congress In-building system, Jonesboro, Eatonton, Loganville, Lilburn, Hoschton, area, which are all now covered by the most advanced Verizon Wireless 3G EV-DO (Rev. A) network.

Network Enhancement
General network enhancements were completed in 40 cities across the state, including Columbus, Macon, Augusta, Albany and Gainesville, to ensure customers have not only the coverage but the capacity to stay connected.

Alltel integration
Verizon Wireless technicians worked on integrating more than 100 Alltel and Verizon Wireless cell sites and two switching facilities across the state in the first half of the year, so that these sites work as part of the largest and most advanced Verizon Wireless network.

Verizon Wireless completed its acquisition of Alltel in January and is the operator of the nation’s largest wireless voice and data network, now serving more than 87 million customers across the country.

With the integration of the former Alltel cell sites, many of which are located in smaller markets in the southern region of the state, the Verizon Wireless company-owned network will cover nearly 99 percent of Georgia’s population.

“Our network teams have taken on an extraordinary scope of work so far this year,” said Jeff Mango, Georgia/Alabama region president of Verizon Wireless. “They never stop working to bring Georgia customers the most advanced services and reliable coverage.”

Other Georgia network highlights in the first half of 2009 include:

• More than 430 million voice and data transmissions and more than 13 billion minutes of airtime were logged on the Verizon Wireless network in Georgia during the first six months of 2009. Wireless data traffic increased over 75 percent from the same period in 2008.
• Verizon Wireless’ network technicians (who serve as the inspiration for the famous TV Test Man ad campaign) have traveled more than 15,000 miles across the state so far this year in special test vehicles equipped with phones, wireless data devices and computers to measure the quality of voice and data calls on the Verizon Wireless network, as well as other carriers’ wireless networks.
• Verizon Wireless rolled Cells On Wheels (COWs) to the Masters in Augusta and the Kobalt 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway to boost wireless coverage for fans, news media and local residents during the high-profile events. The high-tech COWs, each with a 75-foot telescoping antenna, 10 dedicated voice channels and two high-speed data channels, handle hundreds of phone calls and data transmissions simultaneously.

The high-speed Verizon Wireless 3G network gives customers access to a wide array of advanced services such as V CAST – in which customers can stream video clips, play cutting-edge 3D games and download full song tracks over the air; and VZ Navigator(SM) – a location-based service offering maps, audible driving directions, traffic updates, gas station locations and pricing.

This technology also enables customers to wirelessly access their e-mail and calendars, the Internet and other information anytime, anywhere via a secure connection with the company’s Mobile Broadband service. Mobile Broadband offers average download speeds of 600 kilobits per second (kbps) to 1.4 megabits per second and upload speeds of 500-800 kbps, which means being able to upload or download a 1 Megabyte e-mail attachment – the equivalent of a small PowerPoint® presentation or a large PDF file – in less than two seconds.

For more information on Verizon Wireless services, visit www.verizonwireless.com.

EDITOR’S NOTE: For a Test Man ride-along or to tour a Verizon Wireless network facility, please contact Caran Smith at 678-339-4891.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s most reliable and largest wireless voice and data network, serving 87.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 87,000 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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