Verizon Wireless Introduces V CAST Music

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- 2006 International CES Show -- It's
the revolutionary intersection where music and mobility meet. Verizon
Wireless announced today that it is launching the world's most
comprehensive music service, V CAST Music, which offers customers the
ability to download music over the air directly to their wireless
phones or straight to their Windows(R) XP PCs and transfer digital
music between the PC and the phone. On January 16, 2006, V CAST Music
from Verizon Wireless will give customers immediate access to songs
from well-known artists at major music labels Warner Music Group, EMI
Music, Universal and Sony/BMG, as well as indie provider The Orchard,
and will let them play music on their wireless phones -- the same
device they have come to rely upon for entertainment, information and
mobile communication. The company said more than one million songs
will be available for purchase in the Verizon Wireless V CAST Music
Store by spring.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060105/NYTH105 )

V CAST Music combines the immediacy of over-the-air, full-music
downloads with the ability to move a digital music collection between
a Windows XP PC and a wireless phone. The service lets customers
browse, preview, download and play high-quality digital music from
their phones or online in the Verizon Wireless V CAST Music Store.
Purchases from the phone also feature a dual-download of the song,
giving customers the ability to get the same song on both their phone
and their PC for one price. V CAST Music also allows customers to take
digital music already downloaded to their PC and sync it with their
handset via USB cable, using the most widely-respected and
comprehensive Digital Rights Management (DRM) standard, from
Microsoft, available in the United States today.

V CAST Music runs on Verizon Wireless' award-winning broadband
network. The V CAST coverage area, which mirrors the company's
broadband network, is already available to 150 million Americans,
coast to coast.

Denny Strigl, president and chief executive officer of Verizon
Wireless, said at the news conference today, "Verizon Wireless
kick-started the convergence of wireless and entertainment at CES last
year with our launch of V CAST, the first wireless broadband
multimedia service in the country. Today's announcement of V CAST
Music emphasizes the leadership role we're playing in bringing
customers the entertainment content they want and the mobility they
need in today's fast-paced world. V CAST Music is the mobile music
experience that consumers have been craving."

With the launch of V CAST Music, Verizon Wireless reinforces its
position as the industry's multimedia leader, providing revolutionary
new services from the company known for the most reliable network in
the nation. The company continues to introduce services that are
innovative, cutting edge and hip; with the introduction of V CAST
Music, Verizon Wireless breaks into the new world of mobile music,
opening a broad music distribution front. With a few million portable
digital music players in use in the U.S. today -- compared with more
than 200 million wireless phone users -- Verizon Wireless will meet
the dual needs of customers who want mobile music and the ease of
carrying just a single device, opening a whole new untapped consumer
market.

John Stratton, vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon
Wireless, said at the CES press conference, "By offering direct,
on-the-go access to a half a million songs today, and more than one
million by spring, V CAST Music allows people to punctuate everything
they do with the music that matters most to them -- wherever they are.
Music is a natural on the one device people don't leave home without
-- their wireless phone -- making V CAST Music the ultimate
combination of content, mobility and convenience for the music-lover
in us all."

Windows Media from Microsoft

With V CAST Music, Microsoft and Verizon Wireless are collaborating on
a service that enables music to be purchased and delivered directly to
wireless handsets and Windows XP PCs, allowing customers to access and
enjoy music whenever and wherever they want. Microsoft's Windows Media
technologies are powering next generation digital entertainment
scenarios on wireless phones and enabling a simple, connected digital
media lifestyle with access to content virtually anywhere. Microsoft
has been an integral part of bringing V CAST Music to market, enabling
an end-to-end mobile music experience with direct delivery to the
phone and the Windows XP PC.

Verizon Wireless also uses Microsoft's Windows Media technologies to
power its existing V CAST service, the nation's first broadband
entertainment service providing high quality video content to wireless
handsets.

V CAST Music Service Details

* Customers purchasing songs from the V CAST Music Store from the phone

get two copies of every song -- one for the phone and one for the

Windows XP PC.

* Purchases from the PC cost $0.99 and may be transferred via USB cable

to the phone; purchases from the handset cost $1.99 for both copies.

* V CAST Music customers will also be able to purchase entire albums via

their Windows XP PCs; prices vary by album.

* One million songs will be available on V CAST Music by spring;

songs will be from artists at major music labels (Warner Music Group,

EMI Music, Universal and Sony/BMG), as well as independent providers

(The Orchard).

* Several V CAST Music-enabled phones will be available at launch,

including the LG VX8100 and the Samsung a950.

* V CAST Music launches on January 16, 2006, and will be available

through Verizon Wireless' 1,900 Communications Stores and Circuit City

locations and online at http://www.verizonwireless.com.

* The V CAST Music Online Store will be located at:

http://www.verizonwireless.com/music

V CAST from Verizon Wireless is the nation's first wireless broadband
multimedia service for consumers that brings high-quality video, 3D
games and music straight to hot new phones. V CAST customers have
access to the most content from top content providers available --
whether their interest is in games, news updates, sports or celebrity
entertainment.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless
network, serving 49.3 million voice and data customers. Headquartered
in Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon
Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more
information on the Web at http://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 http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
SOURCE Verizon Wireless