Verizon Offers Free Calls to Japan From March 11 to April 10

NEW YORK – March 14, 2011 –

To help its customers contact loved ones in the aftermath of Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami, Verizon is enabling most wireless and residential customers to make free calls to Japan through April 10.

All Verizon Wireless post-paid customers will receive free calling to Japan from March 11 through April 10.  Post-paid customers are those who receive a monthly bill from the company.  In addition, Verizon Wireless post-paid customers will receive free text and multimedia messaging to Japan for the same time period.

Verizon Wireless has also made it easy for customers to text donations to a host of nonprofit organizations responding to the earthquake and subsequent tsunami.  Customers can easily make a $10 donation by simply sending a text message and may choose from nine organizations aiding those in need in Japan. 

All calls made from a Verizon residential landline to Japan will be rated at $0.00 per minute, from March 11 through April 10.  Customers with Verizon World Plan (300, 500 or unlimited minutes of long-distance calling) can call Japan without using any minutes from their time-allotment blocks.

Additionally, Verizon Prepaid Phone Card charges for all long-distance calls placed to Japan from the U.S will also be waived from March 11 until April 10.

The company is also providing FiOS TV customers who are not subscribed to TV Japan with free access to the channel, through March 17.  The channel location is 1770. 

* Only long-distance usage charges associated with calls made from residential landlines terminating to wireline or wireless destinations in Japan will be waived from Mar. 11 - April 10.  All other fees including taxes, surcharges, monthly recurring charges (MRCs), minimum spend levels (MSLs), monthly minimum charges (MMCs), etc will continue to apply.  Post-paid calling card charges to Japan will also be waived.

** If long distance calling fees were charged, credits will be issued in a future bill statement.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, NASDAQ:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving 94.1 million customers nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 194,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of $106.6 billion.  For more information, visit verizon.com/news.

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Virgin Mobile sells calls at 5 cents

Jul 15th 2010 at 5:00PM

(wireless internet service,internet service providers,internet service,wireless service providers,verizon wireless internet,verizon internet,broadband internet providers,wireless broadband providers,broadband internet,broadband wireless)
Virgin Mobile has launched another prepaid cell phone plan, selling minutes for 5 cents each under its payLo plan.
The plan, unveiled Thursday, is the lowest price I've seen for a prepaid phone, and beats what Boost Mobile, Assurance Wireless, Net10 and others sell for 10 cents a minute, including plans for people below the poverty rate. Common Cents Mobile has tried to stand out from the prepaid phone crowd by rounding down calls and charging 7 cents a minute.
The 400-minute payLo plan is $20 a month, which equates to 5 cents a minute. Additional minutes are 20 cents each, a text message is 15 cents, the picture rate is 25 cents, and data is $1.50 per megabyte. Minutes do not rollover.
If you talk less than 400 minutes a month, Virgin Mobile has another prepaid plan that is $7 per month by adding $20 to an active prepaid account for 90 days of service. But the basic rate of 20 cents a minute applies to that plan, giving callers 100 minutes of airtime for three months, or 33 minutes per month. The basic rate plan is for people who want an emergency or safety phone to call if their car breaks down, for example.
The 400-minute plan is a deal if you're using the 400 minutes, since they don't rollover.
"We can't do 5 cents and have them last a lot longer," said Neil Lindsay, chief marketing officer for Sprint Mobile's prepaid plans. "It just wouldn't make business sense."
Before switching to a prepaid phone plan, or any phone plan, check out the coverage and go to a price comparison site to see if the minutes you expect to use are worth the money.
Without long-term contracts, prepaid phones are becoming more popular. The worst disadvantage, however, is that while per minute costs have come down, they're still higher than traditional postpaid service, according to a wireless plan buying guide. Also, the minutes usually expire in one to three months, and you'll have to buy more minutes before they expire. Some, such as Net10, which I have, allow minutes to rollover.

Aaron Crowe is a freelance journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Verizon Wireless Boosts Coverage In The Los Alamos, New Mexico, Area To Help Emergency Crews Battling The Las Conchas Fire Make More Calls

Verizon Wireless Boosts Coverage In The Los Alamos, New Mexico, Area To Help Emergency Crews Battling The Las Conchas Fire Make More Calls

Customer Inquiries

For customer inquiries, please call 800-922-0204 or go to
Contact Us

Media Contact Info

Jenny Weaver
Jenny.Weaver@VerizonWireless.com
480-763-6321

06/29/2011

What/when:  

On June 29, 2011, Verizon Wireless deployed a wireless repeater to boost coverage for emergency crews battling the Las Conchas Fire near Los Alamos, NM.  Last week, on June 23, the company also deployed a wireless repeater to the Incident Command Post for the Pacheco Fire near Santa Fe.

Reliability:     

In addition to its fleet of mobile equipment, Verizon Wireless’ reputation as the nation’s largest and most reliable 3G wireless network is supported by industry-leading redundancy and maintenance measures.  This has proven particularly valuable during natural disasters and other emergencies across the country.  Standard Verizon Wireless network-reliability features include battery back-up power at all facilities as well as generators installed at all switching facilities and many cell site locations.

Network investment:

Since 2000, Verizon Wireless has invested more than $375 million in its wireless network in New Mexico and El Paso, Texas, and more than $65 billion nationally.

Emergency preparedness:

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s fastest, most advanced 4G network and largest, most reliable 3G network.  The company serves 104 million total wireless connections, including more than 88 million retail customers.  Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 85,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: 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.

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New Cell Site Helps Springfield, Oregon Residents And Visitors Make More Calls And Connect To Text, E-Mail, The Web And More

New Cell Site Helps Springfield, Oregon Residents And Visitors Make More Calls And Connect To Text, E-Mail, The Web And More

Customer Inquiries

For customer inquiries, please call 800-922-0204 or go to
Contact Us

Media Contact Info

Scott Charlston
Scott.Charlston@VerizonWireless.com  
206-940-0385

06/29/2011

BEAVERTON, OR — Wireless calling, text messaging and surfing the Web on the Verizon Wireless high-speed 3G network is now easier and faster for residents and visitors in Springfield, Oregon thanks to a new cell site. The site expands 3G wireless coverage and capacity in Lane County.

The company’s ongoing network investment in Oregon now totals more than $562 million, including $60 million in 2010. Since the company was formed, Verizon Wireless has invested more than $65 billion – $5.7 billion on average every year – to increase the coverage and capacity of its premier nationwide network and to add new services.

Verizon Wireless recently launched its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless services in 74 metropolitan areas across the US, including Seattle and has committed to launch Portland-Vancouver in July, adding a total of 139 new markets during 2011, covering two thirds of all Americans by the end of the year. 4G LTE offers customers who live, work or travel in these markets significantly greater speed and capabilities than even today’s most advanced 3G coverage. For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s fastest, most advanced 4G network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 104 million total wireless connections, including more than 88 million retail customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 85,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: 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.

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