"Research shows that today there are nearly as many female gamers as there are male gamers," said Susan Retta, vice president of consumer products and services at Verizon. "Our new casual gaming portal gives women and girls a new place online to enjoy games, interact with other players, win prizes, identify themselves by games they love to play, challenge and stretch their minds, and just have a lot of fun."

The new online community features:

    --  Unlimited access to more than 1,500 games for $14.99 a month, and a
        "Quick Pack" option for 450 games for $4.99 a month.   Packages include
        a 14-day free trial.
    --  Extensive library of games powered by Exent Technologies that spans
        popular genres like puzzle, arcade, hidden object, time management and
        others.  Top titles include "Bejeweled 2," "Women's Murder Club 3: Twice
        in a Blue Moon," "Zuma," "Cake Mania Main Street," "Top Chef: The Game"
        and many more.
    --  Cool "mini me" avatars that players can dress in any fashion, including
        the latest fashions, to show off their unique character and style.
    --  Virtual 3D Game Lounge offering an online retreat that members can
        design and decorate to match their own individuality.
    --  Virtual marketplace where players use their hard-earned Prize Points to
        personalize their avatars and choose from an extensive array of items
        for their game lounges.
    --  Game challenges offering achievements that earn Prize Points and
        trophies.
    --  Trophy Case for members to display their skills and accomplishments to
        the entire community.
    --  Leaderboards in categories including Top Critics, Trophy Leaders, Power
        Users and more.

Verizon Offers Incentives for Gamers to Join In

A series of Free Ladies' Nights -- the first night begins Nov. 24 from 7 p.m. Eastern time to 7 a.m. Nov. 25 -- during which any Verizon broadband subscriber can access and play all games in the Verizon Games catalog for free.

In addition, the new community is hosting a monthly sweepstakes through February and will award prizes to new members who become eligible once they have downloaded and played their first game within the month. Members can also win big by dressing up their avatar and submitting it for judging by the community in a popular vote. Submissions must be received by Jan. 22, 2010, with voting ending on Feb. 10.

Visit www.verizon.net/shegames to learn more. For more information on Verizon FiOS Internet and Verizon High Speed Internet services, visit www.verizon.com.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: 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 more than 89 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 230,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $97 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

About Exent, Inc.

Exent is the global leader in developing and marketing solutions for the broadband-based monetization of PC video games. Exent's product line supports multiple solutions, including digital distribution of video games, cross-platform enablement, in-game advertising and community building solutions.

Exent delivers technologies and products for various markets, including video game publishers, broadband service providers, consumer portals, consumer electronics manufacturers, media companies, advertising agencies, brand owners, retailers and others.

For more information please visit us at: www.exent.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

SOURCE Verizon

http://www.verizon.com

Richard Enright, director of network system performance at Verizon Wireless, said: "Verizon Wireless's 3G network coverage across New England is unparalleled. We've invested billions of dollars into New England believing that even the most sophisticated cell phone is only as good as the network it runs on. Our continued aggressive network investments provide customers with a 3G network advantage at home and on vacation."

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http://www.verizonwireless.com

Mobile Operator Forecast on the United States provides over 50 operational and financial metrics for the US wireless market and is one of the best forecasts in the industry. The publisher provides five-year forecasts at the operator level going out to 2013. They also provide quarterly historical and forecast data starting in 1Q2003 and ending in 2Q2011. Operators covered for the United States include: Verizon Wireless (Joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group Plc.), AT&T Mobility LLC, Sprint Nextel Corporation, and T-Mobile USA, Inc. The publisher's Mobile Operator Forecasts are updated quarterly and are available for one-time delivery or through regular updates.

Global Mobile Operator Forecast covers 50 operational metrics of 200+ mobile operators in 50+ countries, making up 80% of the world's population. The publisher's forecasts are based on their proprietary, country-specific forecasting models. These models deploy multiple regression analysis and cross-impact matrices that estimate relationships between subscriber data, technology use and deployment data, overall economic and demographic changes expected in a particular country; and relate these to company operational and financial metrics.

Subscriber growth is slowing down in the US wireless market +5.2% industry average subscriber growth in 2Q.2009

ARPU growth continues to be negative

1.6% industry average ARPU growth in 2Q.2009

Minutes of Use per Subscriber are stabilizing The industry average MOU/Sub growth (YoY) of -0.8% in 2Q.2009

Positive EBITDA growth at Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility continues +1.1% industry-average EBITDA growth in 2Q.2009

So what is IEMR's Forecast?

Total wireless subscribers in the United States to reach 352.5 million in 2013

The publisher forecasts that total wireless subscribers in USA will increase from 270.3 million in 2008 to 352.5 million in 2013. Verizon Wireless will continue to be the largest mobile operator in the country. The publisher's model predicts that Verizon Wireless's subscriber base will increase to 127.4 million in 2013. On the other hand, they forecast that AT&T Mobility will have 111.9 million subscribers and T-Mobile will have 43.1 million subscribers in 2013.

In spite of rapid growth of smaller operators, Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility will see their subscriber market shares increase over the next five years

The publisher's forecasting model predicts that Verizon Wireless's market share will increase from 31.5% to 36.1% and AT&T Mobility's market share will increase from 28.5% to 31.7% over the forecast period, 2008 - 2013. The publisher also expects that T-Mobile's market share will remain at approximately 12.2% over the next five years while Sprint-Nextel's market share declines dramatically.

Industry average ARPU level in the United States to decline slightly over the forecast period, 2009 - 2013

The publisher expects that the industry-average monthly ARPU level will fall from $51.29 in 2008 to $51.09 in 2013. However, the overall ARPU decline is largely driven by smaller operators. They expect that Verizon's monthly ARPU level will increase from $50.26 in 2008 to $51.25 in 2013.

Verizon Wireless will continue to enjoy the highest level of profitability in the US wireless market

The publisher's model predicts that the industry average EBITDA margin (calculated as EBITDA/reported revenue) will be declining from 32.4% in 2008 to 29.8% in 2013. On the other hand, they forecast that Verizon Wireless's EBITDA margin will improve from 39.0% in 2008 to 42.0% in 2013.

Companies Mentioned:

Verizon Wireless (Joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group Plc.) AT&T Mobility LLC Sprint Nextel Corporation T-Mobile USA, Inc.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/697091/4q09_united_states

SOURCE: Research and Markets Ltd.

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