Verizon Investing $600,000 to Better Serve Customers in Wilmington, Del. and Chester County, Pa.

WILMINGTON, Del. -- Verizon customers will soon benefit from a $600,000 investment the company is making to upgrade its telecommunications network connecting Wilmington and southern Chester County, Pa.

Verizon is installing additional fiber-optic cable and associated electronic equipment along Route 52 to provide additional capacity and reliability in its network. The aerial and underground cable contains more than 4,300 fiber miles, the total distance if all the fibers in the cable were placed end to end. The company expects to complete the project in May.

"Because of Verizon's investment in Delaware, an advanced broadband, fiber-optic network now serves every corner of the state from Rockland to Rehoboth," said Joshua W. Martin III, president of Verizon Delaware. "The ability to build, enhance and maintain complex networks is at the very heart of our business. Verizon has played a key role in Delaware's economic development for more than a century. We intend to be a part of Delaware's telecommunications future in the 21st century and beyond."

Martin said Verizon's commitment to improve Delaware's telecommunications infrastructure includes:

• Investment of nearly $600 million in the company's Delaware network since 1995.

• A 15 percent increase in fiber deployment in the state - from 119,464 fiber miles at the end of the end of September 2002 to 137,742 at the end of September 2003.

• Deployment of nearly 400 SONET (synchronous optical network) rings in Verizon's Delaware network. SONET rings provide multiple routes for high-speed voice and data services and are self-healing, automatically rerouting telecommunications transmissions in the event of a service disruption.

"Verizon is the only telecommunications company committed to significant investment in Delaware's future," Martin said. "Verizon's Delaware network is open to residents and businesses as well as our competitors. We welcome competition in the local marketplace, and any company that sincerely wants to compete here can do so."

A Fortune 10 company, Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services, with approximately $68 billion in annual revenues. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world, as measured by directory titles and circulation. Verizon's international presence includes wireline and wireless communications operations and investments, primarily in the Americas and Europe. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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