National Press Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The 51st running of the Great American Race is just around the corner, but Verizon Wireless crews and engineers have been hard at work for weeks to rev up wireless coverage for visiting race fans, news media, local residents and businesses attending Sunday's race in Daytona.

Verizon Wireless will deploy two high-tech COWs (Cells on Wheels) outside of the speedway -- each with a 75-foot telescoping antenna, eight dedicated voice channels and three high-speed data channels. The units will strengthen the already robust Verizon Wireless network in Daytona Beach and across Florida for the spike in calls, text messages, picture and video messages, Internet connections and other wireless traffic during the world-famous race Feb. 15 and other speedway events during the week.

In addition, a temporary in-building system was installed at the Ocean Deck Hotel in Daytona Beach to support the increase in wireless traffic expected at several race-related events there during race weekend. Verizon Wireless, the primary sponsor on the No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge Charger driven by award-winning driver Justin Allgaier, will celebrate its entry in the 2009 series at the Ocean Deck on Friday, Feb. 13. The company also is an associate sponsor of the No. 3 and No. 6 Penske teams for the 2009 IndyCar Series season.

At the height of the Daytona spectacle, which boasts the biggest on-site audience in racing with more than 200,000 fans on its 480-acre motor sports complex, Verizon Wireless expects millions of successful connections per hour on its Florida digital network.

Verizon Wireless has invested $1.8 billion in the state to enhance its digital network since the company was formed. In 2008 alone, $155 million was invested in Florida to power the Verizon Wireless 3G high-speed wireless network (EV-DO Rev. A). This technology drives advanced wireless services, such as V CAST -- which allows customers to stream video clips, play cutting-edge 3D games and download full-song tracks over the air; and VZ Navigator(SM) -- a location-based service offering maps, audible driving directions, traffic updates, gas station locations and pricing.

Verizon Championship Racing, a new category available to V CAST subscribers this month, offers a host of multimedia options for fans including behind-the-scenes exclusive interviews with drivers, recaps of races, highlights, games, news and other racing information.

In addition, customers using the company's Mobile Broadband data service to wirelessly access their e-mail and calendars, the Internet and other information, can expect average download speeds of 600 kilobits per second (kbps) to 1.4 megabits per second and average upload speeds of 500-800 kbps. At those speeds, customers can download a 1 Megabyte e-mail attachment -- the equivalent of a small PowerPoint(R) presentation or a large PDF file -- in about eight seconds and upload the same sized file in less than 13 seconds.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and data network, serving more than 80 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 85,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, visit 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 www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

SOURCE Verizon Wireless