WALNUT CREEK, Calif., Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless customers in the San Francisco Bay Area can now access e-mail, everyday corporate data, the Internet and more at faster speeds, and upload files five to six times faster than before as Verizon Wireless rolls out the next-generation of its high- speed broadband network in Northern California. Based on CDMA 1x Evolution- Data Optimized (EV-DO) Revision A (Rev. A) technology, the enhanced wireless broadband network provides Verizon Wireless customers in the Bay Area with data uplink speeds significantly faster than the company's award-winning national EV-DO network, which the company rolled out in the Bay Area in August 2005.

The faster network coverage is available throughout the nine Bay Area counties -- including the cities of Berkeley, Concord, Daly City, Fairfield, Fremont, Hayward, Oakland, Richmond, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, Sunnyvale, and Vallejo -- providing Verizon Wireless customers with faster access for sending and uploading data. Rev. A coverage is also available in San Benito County.

The company's existing EV-DO network enables customers to access BroadbandAccess on their laptops, e-mail on their PDAs, and V CAST Video and Music on their wireless phones. The company's national wireless broadband network, the first in the nation, is already available to more than 200 million Americans in 242 major metropolitan areas and 180 major airports from coast to coast.

"Our existing wireless broadband network has enabled customers to work remotely and stay entertained in unprecedented ways; now we're taking wireless to the next level by introducing technology that helps them work faster and more efficiently," said Rich Garwood, Northern California and Nevada regional president for Verizon Wireless.

The company's flagship business data service, BroadbandAccess, will run faster and more efficiently with the new network enhancements. Customers in enhanced coverage areas can take advantage of upload speeds that are five to six times faster than with the company's existing wireless broadband network, plus interact with Web-based applications with improved latency for a better customer experience.

For example, BroadbandAccess customers in enhanced wireless broadband coverage areas can expect average download speeds of 450-800 kilobits per second (kbps) and average upload speeds of 300-400 kbps, which translates to being able to download a 1 Megabyte e-mail attachment -- the equivalent of a small PowerPoint(R) presentation or a large PDF file -- in less than 15 seconds and upload the same size file in less than 25 seconds. The enhanced network coverage areas allow Verizon Wireless customers to download files approximately six times faster than customers of wireless service providers who use non-EV-DO technology.

The first two devices from Verizon Wireless that take advantage of faster speeds provided by these new network enhancements are the new compact USB720 wireless modem and the AirCard 595 PC Card from Verizon Wireless, which are fully compatible and backward compatible with the company's enhanced and existing wireless broadband networks and the company's NationalAccess network (based on CDMA 1xRTT technology). Bay Area customers purchasing either device can get significantly faster upload speeds and improved download speeds when in an enhanced network coverage area. Bay Area customers interested in purchasing either device can contact their local business sales representative at 1-800-VZW-4-BIZ; the devices are also available online at http://www.verizonwireless.com/.

For more information about Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to http://www.verizonwireless.com/.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving more than 59 million customers. The largest U.S. wireless company and largest wireless data provider, based on revenues, Verizon Wireless is headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 65,000 employees nationwide. The company is a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at 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.

CONTACT: Heidi Flato of Verizon Wireless, +1-925-279-6545, or
Heidi.Flato@VerizonWireless.com

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