Verizon Wireless' Network Ready to Perform at This Weekend's Live 8 Concert on the Parkway

Verizon Wireless' Network Ready to Perform at This Weekend's Live 8 Concert on the Parkway

In Preparation for Big Event, Company Boosts Network Capacity Near Venue Forty Percent

PHILADELPHIA, June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless today reported it has completed network preparations to significantly increase calling capacity for its customers at this weekend's Live 8 concert on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The company has upgraded permanent cell sites in the parkway area and deployed a mobile transmission site called a "COLT" (Cell on Light Truck) near the main concert stage increasing by over 40% the network capacity needed to handle increased wireless call volume expected before, during and after the concert. The 25,000-pound COLT features two mobile 50-foot cellular antennas, an emergency generator and is capable of processing thousands of wireless phone calls every hour.

In addition, company system performance technicians and engineers have been checking the Verizon Wireless network throughout the downtown Philadelphia area for weeks, testing coverage and capacity from Ben Franklin Parkway to Independence Mall and throughout downtown Philadelphia to help ensure fewer dropped calls and clearer reception for the millions of visitors and area residents attending both Live 8 and the city's annual "Welcome America," July 4 weekend events.

"We have very strong coverage in downtown Philadelphia where these events will be hosted and are prepared for a significant increase in wireless usage over what we would normally experience in this area," said Joe Slowik, system performance director for the company's Philadelphia Tri-State Region. "These preparations will ensure we have additional capacity to handle voice calls, text and picture messaging traffic and provide the quality of service our customers expect," Slowik added.

The company's network is built for year-round reliability in emergencies, like power blackouts and storms, as well as for events that generate increased wireless usage, with redundancies in place to maintain services for customers when they need it most.

When needed, mobile cell sites such as the COLT or a Cell on Wheels (COW) are utilized to beef up network capacity at major events such as last year's Democratic and Republican National conventions as well as the Indianapolis 500, Kentucky Derby and Preakness races. Earlier this month, the company deployed a COLT at Delaware's Dover International Speedway NASCAR race weekend events to provide increased calling capacity for attendees.

Verizon Wireless invests more than $1 billion every 90 days to improve and expand what is already the most reliable wireless network in the United States. In 2004, about $160 million of this investment was spent in the company's Philadelphia Tri-State Region to stay ahead of the growing demand for Verizon Wireless products and services.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 45.5 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at http://www.verizonwireless.com/. To preview and request broadcast-quality footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log onto the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

Source: Verizon Wireless

CONTACT: Sheldon Jones, Verizon Wireless, +1-215-638-5668,
sheldon.jones@verizonwireless.com; or Megan Shames, +1-215-790-4343, for
Verizon Wireless

Web site: http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia
http://www.verizonwireless.com/

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