Verizon Offers Broadband Home Networking Package to Builders and New Home Buyers in Boston Area

BOSTON - Builders, developers and new home buyers in the Boston metropolitan area, including Massachusetts and New Hampshire suburbs, can now purchase in-home broadband networking from Verizon that will enable consumers to take full advantage of the broadband Internet connections that are increasingly available throughout the area.

"The time is ripe to make sure new homes are wired and ready for the broadband future that is happening now," said Jim Kenny, general manager - business development and sales for Verizon Connected Solutions. "Today, broadband Internet access is expanding and the popular media are bringing increased focus to the home networking of PCs, digital and satellite TV, MP3 music players, online video games and other fruits of digital communications."

Homebuyers can choose Verizon® Ready^SM home networking options up until days before the walls are closed in their new home. When making these decisions, they also can select Verizon telephone services, such as additional lines, voice mail and call waiting. A customer can order Verizon Online DSL (digital subscriber line) Internet access -- if available on their line -- once they have moved into the house and established telephone service.

Verizon Connected Solutions, a subsidiary of Verizon Communications, offers a communications gateway and advanced wiring solution -- called the Verizon Ready system -- that enables residents to share voice, data, video, entertainment and Internet services in every room in a house. The Verizon Ready system integrates a flexible and expandable home network device or hub with advanced communications wiring and cables.

The Verizon Ready hub is the gateway to all services coming into the home, such as cable or satellite TV and high-speed Internet access. The hub also is the central connection for distributing services within a home, such as sending a movie from the videocassette recorder (VCR) with the TV in the living room to the TV set in the family room. The high-speed cables are connected both to the centrally located hub device and to multi-port, multimedia outlets in each room that can handle broadband video, high-speed data and telephone services.

As the needs of a family change, Verizon Ready system's modular configuration means the homeowner can rearrange the distribution of services from room to room or within rooms with ease.

The Verizon Ready system was launched in 1998 in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., under the "Bell Atlantic" brand. The system offers a scalable approach to home networking, starting with a standard package with a range of upgrade options. This enables builders or new homeowners to tailor solutions to meet their needs and budget. The number of Verizon Ready installations have been doubling about every six months in the mid-Atlantic markets, and today seven of the top-ten builders in the Washington, D.C., area install the Verizon system in the new homes they construct.

The Verizon Ready system generally is sold via builders and developers. In addition, Verizon offers a number of partnering programs that enable contractors to generate additional revenue from any Verizon home-network upgrades or phone services that are sold and to leverage Verizon's communications technology expertise. Individual homeowners can purchase the Verizon Ready system if they are making extensive renovations to an existing house, building a new home through a builder, or working with a general contractor to build a customized home.

For more information, visit the Verizon Connected Solutions Web site at http://www.verizoncsi.com or call 1-888-947-3782 (1-888-WIRE-SVC).

Verizon Connected Solutions Inc.

Verizon Connected Solutions Inc. is the Verizon Communications subsidiary that offers the Verizon Ready system. It specializes in the design and installation of premises-based communications products and services for voice, data, video, audio and interactive multi-media applications for consumers and businesses. The unit is based in Beltsville, Md., a suburb of Washington, D.C., and is an ISO 9001 registered company.

Verizon Communications

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 112 million access line equivalents and 27 million wireless customers. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world. A Fortune 10 company with approximately 260,000 employees and more than $65 billion in annual revenues, Verizon's global presence extends to 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.