Verizon Wireless Test Teams Span Florida to Ensure Network Reliability

TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- That four-wheel-drive sport utility you passed on a Florida highway or back road may have been a Verizon Wireless test vehicle.  The company's unmarked fleet of SUVs, driven by local Verizon Wireless network systems performance engineers, traveled more than 25,000 miles of local highways and byways to test the Verizon Wireless network and the networks of competitors in the first half of 2010.

Using sophisticated testing equipment inside the vehicles, Verizon Wireless' local test teams conducted more than 100,000 voice call attempts and almost 600,000 data tests on the Verizon Wireless network and the networks of major competitors.

Nationally, Verizon Wireless test men and women drove a total of 497,700 miles and conducted 1.69 million voice call attempts and 9.7 million data tests from January through June 2010.

Data collected year-round by the company's nationwide team of 100 test men and women – the largest single team of systems performance engineers deployed by a U.S. wireless service provider – provide the support for the company's "nation's most reliable wireless network" claim.

Results of national voice reliability tests consistently show that the Verizon Wireless network beats all other carriers.  Similarly, national data reliability test results establish that the Verizon Wireless 3G network is more reliable than national competitors' 3G networks.    

The collected data also helps Verizon Wireless plan its multi-billion dollar network capital expenditure program.  Since the company was formed, Verizon Wireless has invested more than $60 billion – $5.7 billion on average every year – to increase the coverage and capacity of its premier nationwide network and to add new services.  The company's ongoing network investment in Florida now totals more than $2 billion.

Learn More

• Learn more about how Verizon Wireless test men and women test the company's network and how Verizon Wireless uses the collected data to help direct its multi-billion dollar network capital expenditure program at http://news.vzw.com/news/2010/03/pr2010-03-23h.html.
• Meet our test men and women at http://news.vzw.com/testdriver.  
• View video of a Verizon Wireless test man as he tests the company's network at www.youtube.com/VerizonWirelessTV#p/u/17/wjAvYIWp7lA.

To set up an interview and ride-along network test drive with your local Verizon Wireless test man or woman, contact Chuck Hamby at 813-615-4803 or Ed Gilhuly at 305-807-6906.

Stay in the know about Verizon Wireless news in Florida by following VZWPRGUY on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VZWPRGUY.  For the latest network-related news, information and upgrades, follow VZWNetwork on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VZWNetwork.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving more than 92 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 79,000 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.

SOURCE Verizon Wireless