College Student Wins $100,000 in Verizon's 'FiOS Grand Tournament'; Micah Ernst Bests Field of More Than 6,000 Registrants in Groundbreaking Online Gaming Tournament Played Over Advanced Fiber-Optic Broadband Network

Business Wire, August 3, 2006

NEW YORK -- Rochester Institute of Technology student Micah Ernst has become $100,000 richer by emerging from a field of over 6,000 registrants to win Verizon's first online gaming competition - the Verizon FiOS Grand Tournament. The 23-year-old student from Meadville, Penn., bested the tournament's eight finalists, playing live in Hermosa Beach, Calif., over Verizon's ultra-fast, all-fiber FiOS Internet service. His $100,000 prize is one of the largest ever awarded for an online video game tournament.

"We congratulate Micah on his impressive win," said Brian Angiolet, director of Marketing for Verizon. "It was exciting to see him and the other finalists compete live against each other, using a 30 Megabit-per-second FiOS Internet connection delivered over our new, all-fiber network. It's clear that FiOS Internet is breaking the barriers to fun on the Internet and is creating new levels of interaction for everyone who uses it."

Ernst says he plans to use his FiOS Grand Tournament winnings to pay off college loans, buy a large-screen TV and possibly take a trip to New Zealand.

The Verizon FiOS Grand Tournament was one of the largest online video game tournaments ever held, with more than 6,000 registrants. Players from across the country competed to secure a coveted spot as one of the top eight players and the chance to win $100,000 during the Verizon FiOS Grand Tournament weekend on July 28-29.

The final eight leaderboard ended as such:

    Name/Hometown                          Prize
    -------------                          -----

1.  Micah Ernst, Meadville, PA             $100,000

2.  Scott Rogoff, Trumbull, CT             Alienware Prize Systems &
                                           Monitor

3.  Zachariah Kendall, Colville, WA        Alienware Prize Systems &
                                           Monitor

4.  Kenny Wells, Towson, MD                ATI Radeon(R) X1900 XT
                                           Series Video Card

5.  Brian Kihneman, Austin, TX             ATI Radeon(R) X1900 XT
                                           Series Video Card

6.  Dominic Anderson, Portland, OR         ATI Radeon(R) X1900 XT
                                           Series Video Card

7.  Richard Oliver, Virginia Beach, VA     Saitek Gamers Keyboard

8.  Stefan Hock, Trumbull, CT              Saitek Gamers Keyboard

Verizon offers FiOS high-speed broadband service in parts of 16 states, bringing the benefits of fiber all the way to the home. With maximum download connections of up to 50 megabits per second (Mbps) in certain states and upload connections of up to 5 Mbps, FiOS provides gamers with the speed they need to compete.*

More information about the tournament can be found online at www.fiosgrand.com.

About Verizon

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), a Dow 30 company, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving nearly 55 million customers nationwide. Verizon Business operates one of the most expansive wholly-owned global IP networks. Verizon Telecom is deploying the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network to deliver the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services to customers. Based in New York, Verizon has a diverse workforce of more than 252,000 and generates annual consolidated operating revenues of approximately $90 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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*NOTE: Actual (throughput) speeds will vary