Verizon Wireless Donates Satellite Phones and Service to Orange County Sheriff Department for Search and Rescue Operations

Business Wire, May 1, 2000

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IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2000

Satellite Phones and Service Available to Consumers Statewide

Verizon Wireless today announced a donation of Globalstar satellite phones and a year's worth of free satellite and cellular airtime to the Orange County Sheriff Department.

The tri-mode phones, which offer satellite as well as digital and analog cellular service, will provide emergency communications assistance for the department's Search and Rescue team, supplementing existing two-way radio communication in remote locations, such as Orange County's Cleveland National Forest and numerous canyon areas.

Verizon Wireless also announced that Globalstar satellite service and satellite phones are available to consumers in California at select Verizon Wireless retail stores.

"The satellite phones and airtime donated by Verizon Wireless and Globalstar will provide a vital link in assisting life-saving operations, allowing us to have phone service in remote areas of Orange County that are not served by traditional landline and cellular networks," said Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona.

"Our Search and Rescue teams will have a reliable method of communicating directly with local hospitals that do not use two-way radio, enabling them to provide better, faster service to injured parties during emergency situations."

"By providing satellite phone service to Orange County Sheriff's Department, we are taking an important step toward enhancing the communications capabilities when responding to emergencies," said Verizon Wireless Southwest Area President Brian Shay.

"This will allow the department's Search and Rescue team to communicate with hospitals, paramedics, fire departments and other team members during a crisis without tying up radio channels used by field personnel. As an Orange County-based company, we're especially honored to help our local Sheriff Department."

Four California County Sheriff Departments have received the donated phones and airtime from Verizon Wireless and Globalstar, including Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Sacramento counties. Valued at more than $14,000, the donation was announced today at a press conference hosted by the Orange County Sheriff Department in Santa Ana, Calif.

Globalstar satellite service was launched in the United States on Feb. 28, 2000. The service expands the wireless coverage area by using Qualcomm Globalstar GSP-1600 tri-mode phones that can be switched from digital cellular and analog service to the Globalstar satellite network when users move between coverage areas.

Communication is provided by a system of 48 satellites that works as a supplement to ground-based analog and digital cellular networks.

The satellite phones used for the Globalstar service offer more than 3.5 hours of talk time and/or nine hours of standby time in satellite mode, or 4.5 hours of talk time and/or 72 hours of standby time in digital cellular mode.

The satellite phones are now available for a suggested retail price of $1,499.99 in Verizon Wireless retail stores in Irvine, Santa Monica, Corona, City of Industry, Costa Verde, Sacramento, Stockton, Redding and Chico, Calif., and Reno, Nev.

Service plans begin at $29.99 per month, plus $1.69 per minute, or $99.99 per month with 50 bundled minutes included. In addition, new customers who activate Globalstar service between April 1 and May 31, 2000, will receive 30 percent off access and domestic airtime through July 15, 2000.

About Globalstar USA

Globalstar USA (GUSA), an indirect Vodafone AirTouch Plc. subsidiary, has exclusive rights to sell Globalstar satellite service in the United States and is responsible for building the satellite gateways, interconnecting with the public phone network, development and management of billing and customer care systems, sales, product distribution and marketing.

For more information visit Globalstar USA's Web site at www.globalstarusa.com.

About Globalstar

Globalstar L.P., led by founding partner Loral Space & Communications, is a partnership of the world's leading telecommunications service providers and equipment manufacturers, including Qualcomm Inc., Alcatel, Alenia, China Telecom (HK), DACOM, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace, Elsacom (a Finmeccanica company), France Telecom, Hyundai, Space Systems/Loral and Vodafone AirTouch Plc.

For more information, visit Globalstar's Web site at www.globalstar.com. Globalstar service is already available in 37 countries, and is planning to introduce service in more than 80 countries by the end of the year.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless is the largest wireless communications provider in the United States, with more than 16 million wireless voice and data customers and nearly 4 million paging customers. The new coast-to-coast wireless provider was formed by the combination of the U.S. wireless businesses of Bell Atlantic Corp. (NYSE:BEL) and Vodafone AirTouch Plc (LSE:VOD; NYSE:VOD).