SALT LAKE CITY, March 6 At a joint news conference with Governor Mike Leavitt, Verizon Wireless announced the construction of a state-of-the-art Customer Service Call Center in West Valley City. The $42 million facility will bring more than 1,000 new jobs to the local economy and marks the first time a U.S. wireless company has selected Utah as home for a major customer service call center. The Utah center will service Verizon Wireless customers from Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.

The West Valley City location was chosen after Verizon Wireless evaluated competitive sites in Denver, Colorado Springs and Boise. ``Verizon Wireless could have located this customer service center in any community within the Mountain Time Zone,'' said Marni Walden, Regional President for Verizon Wireless. ``The final decision was based on Utah's outstanding labor and real estate market, solid economy, and track-record of having educated, knowledgeable employee pools to draw from.''

As part of his ongoing commitment and vision to improvement and innovation, Governor Mike Leavitt played a key role in ensuring Salt Lake City was the company's final choice.

``We welcome Verizon Wireless as a great, new business in Utah,'' said Governor Leavitt. ``Not only have they committed to bringing new jobs to our state, but the new center will provide the most advanced customer service technology available today.''

A Verizon Wireless prototype, the new center will utilize cutting edge technology that makes serving customers more efficient. When the doors open, the new facility will include more than 800 uniquely designed workstations and almost 200 training stations requiring an investment of $10,000 per workstation.

The 120,000 square foot building is currently under construction at 2777 South Corporate Park Drive. The facility will include a 2,600 square foot health club and dining facilities that provide on-site, affordable meals to employees.

``Verizon Wireless has committed to customers that we will provide the best network and customer service support available in the wireless industry,'' Walden said. ``Our Utah Call Center will help us deliver on that customer service promise to all our customers in the Mountain Region.''

Verizon Wireless will begin hiring and training new employees immediately in anticipation of taking the first customer call in a temporary West Valley City facility on May 1st. The first call will be taken in the permanent location in July.

Utah residents interested in joining Verizon Wireless can contact the company directly on 800-575-HIRE (4473).

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless is the largest wireless communications provider in the U.S. with 27.5 million wireless voice and data customers. The new coast-to-coast wireless provider was formed by the combination of the U.S. wireless businesses of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp -- now Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) -- and Vodafone (NYSE: VOD; London). The new company includes the assets of Bell Atlantic Mobile, AirTouch Cellular, GTE Wireless, PrimeCo Personal Communications and AirTouch Paging. The company has a footprint covering nearly 90 percent of the U.S. population, 49 of the top 50 and 96 of the top 100 U.S. markets. Verizon Wireless, headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, is 38,000 employees strong. Reporters and editors can find more information about the company in its Media Center on the Web at: www.verizonwireless.com.

SOURCE: Verizon Wireless