TULSA, Okla., May 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Have you spent a long weekend at Grand Lake, frustrated by the lack of cell phone coverage? That's no longer an issue if you're a Verizon Wireless customer.
Verizon Wireless, the only major carrier to offer a 30-day test drive of its network with a money-back guarantee if a customer is not completely satisfied, recently enhanced its network by building nine new digital cell towers to cover the Grand Lake area. The new sites will expand the company's network to Grand Lake just in time for the increased holiday traffic of Memorial Day weekend. A tenth site will be added in the next few weeks.
The 10 new cell sites address an area that has long been a source of frustration for wireless customers in northeastern Oklahoma.
"When we started building our network in and around Tulsa, Grand Lake was quickly identified as an area that had historically been a major problem for wireless customers. We decided that we would provide the highest quality of service in the lake area -- to demonstrate the quality and reliability of network," said Lee Maschmann, executive director -- Network for Verizon Wireless. "Verizon Wireless customers heading to the lake this summer will be amazed at the coverage they will enjoy during their vacations."
The new sites are part of the company's Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Revision A (Rev. A) wireless broadband network, which means customers can access the company's high-speed wireless network and enjoy two flagship services: BroadbandAccess, the company's high-speed wireless service with average download speeds of 600 kilobits per second (kbps) to 1.4 megabits and average upload speeds of 500-800 kbps; and V CAST, a consumer-oriented multimedia service that offers music and short content on demand, including cutting-edge 3D games, music videos, news, weather and sports.
The company has already invested more than $40 million in Oklahoma and the coverage area will continue to grow.
The company's 'most reliable network' reputation is based on network studies performed by real-life test men and test women throughout the country who inspired the "can you hear me now" national advertising campaign. These engineers make more than 300,000 call tests monthly on Verizon Wireless' and other national carriers' networks while traveling over 100,000 miles a month in specially equipped, company-owned test vehicles.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving more than 60.7 million customers. The largest US wireless company and largest wireless data provider, based on revenues, Verizon Wireless is headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 66,000 employees nationwide. The company is a joint venture of Verizon Communications 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.
