Wireless Broadband Arrives in Northern California; Verizon Wireless Brings BroadbandAccess Wireless Internet Service and V CAST Consumer Multimedia Service to San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento

Business Wire, August 29, 2005

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- Building on its successful strategy to provide customers superior wireless services, Verizon Wireless' regional president Rich Garwood today announced that two award-winning services are available throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento, one developed for the consumer market, the other primarily for business customers. BroadbandAccess, the fastest wide-area wireless Internet access service available in the nation, and V CAST, the nation's first wide-area wireless broadband multimedia service for consumers, are both available today in the Bay Area and Sacramento. Both services run on the company's high-speed EV-DO (Evolution Data-Optimized) wireless broadband network, the only national wide-area wireless broadband network available in the country today, available in 60 major metropolitan markets and 64 major airports from coast to coast.

Verizon Wireless is first to deliver wide-area wireless broadband services to the Bay Area, which began with the launch of its EV-DO network at the three major San Francisco Bay Area airports earlier this summer. Today, Verizon Wireless' wide-area wireless broadband services are available in the Bay Area from the city of San Francisco, along the Peninsula through San Jose, and in the East Bay including Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. The company will enhance the network in this initial coverage area and expand the wide-area wireless broadband network to the Greater Bay Area before the end of the year.

"The launch of our high-speed wireless broadband network in the Bay Area and Sacramento provides customers with state-of-the art technology," said Rich Garwood, Northern California/Nevada regional president for Verizon Wireless. "With V CAST, consumers can access the latest in multimedia programming to stay connected, informed and entertained via their wireless phones. For mobile professionals, BroadbandAccess provides full access to their corporate information, just as if they were attached via a high-speed wired connection, but with the freedom of true mobility."

The company also announced today the launch of its wide-area wireless broadband network in Sacramento. Verizon Wireless' strategy includes adding new markets, and expanding network coverage in existing markets and the company is on track to cover half of the U.S. population by the end of 2005.

BroadbandAccess

The company's nationally recognized BroadbandAccess service, available to mobile professionals and enterprise customers, allows Bay Area and Sacramento customers to connect wirelessly to the Internet via their laptop at broadband speeds, a convenient way to conduct business. The nation's largest and fastest wide-area wireless broadband service, BroadbandAccess is faster than any competing wide-area wireless data service. With BroadbandAccess, customers can download a 1 Megabyte email attachment (for example, a small PowerPoint presentation or a large PDF file), or receive three digital pictures (each 400x600 pixels) in less than 20 seconds. Because EV-DO technology is backward compatible -- a distinct advantage to using CDMA technology -- customers who travel outside a BroadbandAccess coverage area with an EV-DO device will seamlessly switch to Verizon Wireless' existing NationalAccess service, which runs on the company's 1xRTT network.

"Bay Area and Sacramento customers can enjoy the speed, mobility and productivity benefits of our BroadbandAccess service not only here, but when they travel as well," said Garwood. "Verizon Wireless' EV-DO network is the nation's largest and fastest wide-area wireless broadband network, giving BroadbandAccess customers a superior, secure wireless data experience while away from the office."

Working with virtual private network (VPN) connections, business customers can use BroadbandAccess as an extension of their corporate local area network (LAN) or intranet, allowing them to work from any location within the BroadbandAccess coverage area, as if they were in the office. BroadbandAccess, with typical user download speeds of 400-700 kilobits per second (kbps), is ideal for downloading files and business-critical information residing behind corporate firewalls and for accessing e-mail, intranets and the Internet. BroadbandAccess' EV-DO technology has its own data protection and authentication and is designed to work with a business' existing IT infrastructure and security solutions.

In an effort to bring the speed and mobility of Verizon Wireless' BroadbandAccess to more of its customers, Verizon Wireless also announced today a promotional cost-savings of 25 percent for its new and existing voice customers. Now business customers with a voice plan can receive unlimited BroadbandAccess for $59.99 monthly access when they sign up for any of the America's Choice(SM) calling plans of $39.99 and above with a new two-year customer agreement. For non-voice customers, BroadbandAccess is available for $79.99 monthly access for unlimited use with a new one- or two-year customer agreement. The promotional savings is valid for new and existing customers through December 31, 2005. For more information on BroadbandAccess from Verizon Wireless, visit www.verizonwireless.com/broadbandaccess.>