IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 26
/PRNewswire/ — Verizon Wireless, provider of the nation’s largest and most
reliable 3G network, is also the leader in customer loyalty, reporting the
lowest churn (turnover) rate among the nation’s largest wireless carriers in
the fourth quarter of 2009.

    Churn is an important
measure of customer loyalty and represents the percentage of customers who
leave their provider in a given period. 
Fourth-quarter financial performance announcements – the latest was
released today – included the following customer churn rates, based on the
average monthly churn for the quarter:

                          

Total Customers          Postpaid

     
Carrier           (Prepay and Postpaid)      Customers

     
——-           ———————      ———

   
Verizon Wireless            1.42%                1.06%

   
—————-            —-                 —-

   
Carrier X                   1.44%                1.19%

   
———                   —-                 —-

   
Carrier Y                    N/A                 2.11%

   
———                    —                 —-

   
Carrier Z                    3.3%                 2.5%

   
———                    —                  —

    For 20 of the last 21
quarters, Verizon Wireless has led the wireless industry in customer loyalty,
reporting the lowest churn rates among the four major U.S. carriers.

    Network reliability

    “People expect
their cell phone to work when they make a call or try get on the
internet,” said Bill D’Agostino, executive director of network for Verizon
Wireless in Southern California. 
“That’s why we invested nearly $485 million in our California
network in 2009, an average of more than $1.3 million a day to give our
customers the reliable service they expect.”

    Verizon Wireless has
invested nearly $5.7 billion in its California network since the company was
formed in 2000 and operates America’s largest and most reliable wireless
network.  To learn more about the
Verizon Wireless network, visit: tinyurl.com/ky6bm

    Network leadership

    Verizon Wireless was
the first wireless provider to offer 3G speeds.  Today the company has the largest and most reliable 3G network
coverage area in the United States.  See
Verizon Wireless’ 3G coverage for yourself; view a map of Verizon Wireless’ 3G
coverage compared with competitors’ 3G coverage at vzwmap.verizonwireless.com/dotcom/coveragelocator/images/maps/3Gcomparison.pdf.

    To view video of
Verizon Wireless’ network in action, visit the VerizonWirelessTV channel on
YouTube at www.youtube.com/VerizonWirelessTV.

    About Verizon Wireless

  
 Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s most
reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving more than 91
million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with  83,000 employees nationwide, Verizon
Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone
(NASDAQ 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