All Eyes Turn to Middle Tennessee Town as Number Portability Rolls Out Nationwide

Media Contact Info

Carolyn Culbertson
Verizon Wireless
carolyn.culbertson@verizonwireless.com
864-987-2006

Andrew Maraniss
For Verizon Wireless
amaraniss@mpf.com
615-259-4000

05/24/2004

MURFREESBORO, TN — Murfreesboro, Tenn. takes its place at the center of the nation’s wireless communications industry today for the second time in six months.

Local Number Portability (LNP) will be rolled out to most wireless customers across the country today, six months after it was first introduced to customers in the largest 100 U.S. markets. LNP allows wireless customers to keep their phone numbers if they switch wireless service providers.

Verizon Wireless’ call center in Murfreesboro is the hub of the company’s LNP activity, a fact that has generated quite a bit of Tennessee pride in this town southeast of Nashville.

“We have 1,000 employees at this facility and each one of us is proud that Tennesseans are at the forefront of this important event,” said Shawn Stacy, director of the call center. “Back in November, we helped customers in the country’s biggest cities navigate the LNP process. Now we’re excited that wireless customers in rural communities and small towns across the country will be turning to Murfreesboro for the best customer service.”

The call center has been an important part of the community here since April, 2003, when Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen announced Verizon Wireless’ intentions to come to town. The company turned a vacant former outlet mall into a 158,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility, and by hiring 1,000 new employees, helped Rutherford County rank as the No. 4 county in the country in terms of new job growth in 2003.

“Verizon Wireless is committed to making the LNP process as quick and easy as possible for our customers. That’s our primary focus at the call center,” said Stacy. “Our staff is well-trained and highly motivated to succeed.”

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless is the nation’s leading provider of wireless communications. The company has the largest nationwide wireless voice and data network and 39 million customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, N.J., Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at www.verizonwireless.com. To receive broadcast-quality video footage of Verizon Wireless operations, log onto www.thenewsmarket.com/verizonwireless.