Verizon Wireless invests over $45 Million in Nevada network in 2006

[Andy]

Nevadans Talking More. Verizon Wireless Customers’ Wireless Phone Usage Up An Average of 25 Percent in 2006.

Continued Boom In Wireless Usage Made Possible By Company’s Network Investment In The State

Media Contact Info

Jenny Weaver
Jenny.Weaver@VerizonWireless.com
480-763-6321

01/29/2007

LAS VEGAS, NV — Verizon Wireless invested more than $45 million to enhance its Nevada voice and data wireless network in 2006. That’s an average of more than $120,000 per day spent to provide customers in the state with the reliable, high quality service they expect from Verizon Wireless.

The company’s network investment in Nevada now totals more than $260 million over the past six years.

The investment includes adding and updating cell sites to improve call quality and enable customers to make calls. The multi-million dollar investment also includes the launch of the company’s Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) broadband wireless data network in Reno. More specifically the network investments made last year in Nevada are delivering:

Expanded coverage and call capacity

* Key new cell sites throughout the state, including those that improved coverage in North Las Vegas; along major transportation corridors including Interstate 15, Highway 95 and Highway 215; and at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
* Network enhancements to out-pace growth in the number voice and data calls happening at the same time.
* A September 2006 survey found that the average Verizon Wireless customer from Las Vegas makes and receives more calls than customers from most major U.S. cities. Las Vegas customers ranked fifth on the Verizon Wireless study.

Most reliable network in the nation

* Multiple deployments throughout the year of mobile cell sites to provide wireless communications service for major conventions in Las Vegas.
* Additional equipment to provide backup power in the event of a commercial power failure.

New wireless technologies

* Customers in greater Reno can now access high-speed wireless Internet, e-mail, mobile music and more. The high speed data network that enables both BroadbandAccess and V CAST services was previously available in greater Las Vegas and launched in Reno in December.
* Customers also have access to innovative new services based on Global Positioning System (GPS) data. ChaperoneSM gives parents new tools to help identify the whereabouts of phones they’ve given to their young children. VZ NavigatorSM provides wireless turn-by-turn driving directions, maps and addresses. And Field Force Manager allows businesses to map the location of field employees and jobs in near real-time.

The company has invested $35 billion in the last seven 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. Network investment for 2007 is already underway.

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.

http://news.vzw.com/news/2007/01/pr2007-01-31.html