New Verizon Service Funnels Home, Work and Wireless Messages to Single Voice Mailbox

TAMPA -- Tired of making several calls to get all your voice mail messages? So busy that you sometimes forget to check all your mailboxes and miss an important message? With Verizon's new OnePoint^SM Voice Mail service, it takes only one call to retrieve messages left at all your phone numbers -- home, wireless or work, any combination you choose.

OnePoint Voice Mail is available today to consumers and small businesses in the Tampa Bay area, the first U.S. market where Verizon is offering the service.

"Our customers have been asking us for a single voice mailbox for all their phone numbers, including wireless," said Rich McCusker, director of Retail Messaging Solutions for Verizon. "Consumers and businesses want products to help them manage the daily deluge of phone calls and messages. Verizon's OnePoint Voice Mail is a convenient way to do that, saving time and enabling businesses to increase productivity."

With OnePoint Voice Mail, messages left at home, work and wireless numbers can be accessed from one mailbox at the same time. The service forwards up to five numbers to the single, wireline mailbox - the main telephone number and four other numbers, including Verizon Wireless numbers. Consumers and small businesses can customize the service based on the types of messages they wish to have in one voice mailbox.

Features of the new service include:

• Pager Notification and Special Delivery features notify customers when a new message is in their mailbox, eliminating the need to check for messages.

• Callers can be transferred to an alternate number or a person who can assist the caller.

• Important messages can be sent without interrupting the recipient. Customers can record and send messages any time, day or night, without ringing the recipient's telephone or interrupting a call in progress.

• Group lists enable customers to record messages and send them to several recipients. Business associates receive important messages instantaneously.

• More than four hours of messages -- up to 50, five-minute messages - can be stored in the OnePoint mailbox for 30 days.

• Password protection provides enhanced security.

For residential customers, OnePoint Voice Mail is $8.95 a month or $7 a month if purchased in a package. For business customers, the OnePoint service monthly fee starts at $16.

There is a one-time activation fee of $15 for residential customers and $20 for business customers. The fee will be waived for customers who order OnePoint Voice Mail before Oct. 31.

OnePoint Voice Mail is offered exclusively with Verizon local and Verizon Wireless services. No special telephone equipment is needed to use the service; however, customers are required to set up a Call Forwarding feature for each number forwarded to the OnePoint Voice Mail box. Monthly prices for Call Forwarding vary by location.

To learn more about Verizon's OnePoint Voice Mail service go to www.verizon.com. To order, customers should call their local Verizon business office or visit their local Verizon PhoneMart.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with 135.1 million access line equivalents and 30.3 million Verizon Wireless customers. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world. With more than $67 billion in annual revenues and approximately 241,000 employees, Verizon's global presence extends to more than 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.

####