Verizon Wireless Invests $9 Million to Expand Network to Beckley, WV and Surrounding Areas

BECKLEY, W.Va., Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless has invested approximately $9 million this year to expand its nationwide voice and data network into the Beckley, West Virginia area. On October 1, 2008, Verizon Wireless will add portions of Greenbrier, Raleigh and Summers Counties to its coverage area in the Mountain State, joining Mercer and Bland Counties, where the company has provided service since October 2006.

The new signal coverage follows I-77 from Pax into Mercer County, and follows I-64 from Beckley to White Sulphur Springs. Additional network expansion in Summers County is planned for 2008 and into 2009.

Verizon Wireless also announced today it has expanded coverage in Charleston and Huntington as well as in portions of Kanawha, Putnam, Mason, Wayne and Cabell Counties.

The new technology will let Beckley area Verizon Wireless customers make and receive calls on the nation's most reliable network and take advantage of the company's high-speed wireless Internet service, BroadBandAccess. BroadBandAccess service provides customers access to the Internet, e-mail, everyday corporate data, and more via their phones, PDAs or laptop computers. The company's advanced network also lets customers get turn-by-turn GPS-based directions, download music over-the-air, stream videos, play 3D games and more.

Verizon Wireless has been working with authorized retailer RT Wireless to prepare to serve customers from the agent's stores in Bluefield, Lewisburg, Mercer Mall, Princeton, Tazewell and White Sulphur Springs, and from two new locations:

    -- RT Wireless, 119 Rural Acres Drive, Beckley, WV 25801
    -- RT Wireless, Crossroads Mall, 5475 Robert C. Byrd Drive, Bradley, WV
       25818

"We're excited to bring Verizon Wireless' branded service to even more of West Virginia," said Mike Maiorana, Verizon Wireless regional president. "Once residents and travelers try us out, we're confident they'll want to be on the nation's most reliable wireless network."

Along with the network expansion, Verizon Wireless is launching its HopeLine phone recycling program in the area with $15,000 in support for the Women's Resource Center, a domestic violence prevention organization based in Beckley. The Center will receive a donation of 12 wireless phones, valued at $3,500 with prepaid airtime for emergency use by clients, along with an $11,500 grant.

The HopeLine program collects no-longer-used wireless phones, batteries and accessories from any service provider at the company's stores nationwide. Phones are refurbished or recycled in an environmentally friendly way. Proceeds are used to provide wireless phones, airtime and cash grants to

organizations that focus on domestic violence prevention and awareness. Local residents may recycle phones through HopeLine at RT Wireless locations.

Verizon Wireless recently dispatched one of its real life test men to drive-test and fine-tune its network in the Beckley area, a process the company repeats regularly. Nationally, the company has nearly 100 test men and women who drive specially equipped vehicles almost 1,000,000 miles each year on major and secondary highways, roads and streets to determine if voice calls and data connections are successful on the first attempt and stay connected. Each test vehicle uses computers to make or receive more than three million voice call attempts and more than 16 million data tests annually on Verizon Wireless' network and the networks of other carriers. The test men and women are the inspiration for the company's memorable "can you hear me now" national advertising campaign.

This network expansion is part of the company's aggressive, annual multi-billion dollar investment program to add network capacity, coverage and new technology nationwide. In 2007, Verizon Wireless spent $300 million to enhance services and coverage in Southeastern West Virginia, Virginia, Washington, DC, and Maryland, bringing total network investment in the region to more than $1.8 billion since 2000. Nationally, the company has invested more than $45 billion since it was formed in 2000 to offer customers the most reliable service available.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 68.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 70,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, go to: http://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 http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

SOURCE Verizon Wireless