Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Technology Business Research Ranks Verizon Wireless No. 1 in 4Q02 Benchmark Results -- www.marketwire.com

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 27 Apr 2003 04:11:54 -0400

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Technology Business Research Ranks Verizon Wireless No. 1 in 4Q02 Benchmark Results

Increasing Profitability and Strong Subscriber Growth Boost Verizon Wireless to No. 1 Position

HAMPTON, NH -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 04/14/2003 -- Verizon Wireless ranked No. 1 in Technology Business Research’s 4Q02 Mobile Operators Benchmark Report, while Nextel Communications’ improved financial performance boosted the company to the No. 2 position.

“Verizon Wireless improved to the No. 1 position in TBR’s 4Q02 mobile operator competitive benchmark, thanks to consistent profitability metrics, an improved subscriber churn rate and strong net subscriber additions,” according to analyst Jay Slattery. Verizon Wireless tied Nextel for lowest subscriber churn rate of 2.1% during 4Q02. The company’s total subscriber base increased to 32.5 million, adding 970,000 net new subscribers, trailing only T-Mobile USA during the fourth quarter. Market share improved 40 basis points to 22.9% during 4Q02 based on TBR’s estimate of 142 million subscribers in the United States. The company remains the best?positioned U.S. wireless carrier due to its subscriber base of more than 32 million, continued strong profitability and its expansive network. The network is currently being upgraded to cdma2000 1X for increased voice capacity and high-speed data services. Verizon Wireless’ cdma2000 1x network now covers more than 80% of its PoPs.

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Nextel is in the No. 2 position in TBR’s wireless operator benchmark due to its consistent subscriber growth, profitability and industry-leading ARPU. The company continues to show financial improvement on a quarterly basis because of its revenue growth, reduced debt and Direct Connect differentiation.

“Nextel’s focus on the business market and its costs saving initiatives over the past year are paying dividends for the company,” said analyst Chris Foster. “The company has done a solid job of differentiating itself in a competitive market while leading the industry in reducing operating costs.”

NBQ U.S. Mobile Operators 4Q02 Benchmark and Metrics*

Verizon Nextel Cingular
Wireless Wireless

NBQ Mobile
Operators Benchmark
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NBQ Ranking 1 2 3
NBQ Score 5.49 5.40 5.14
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Market Dynamics
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscriber Market Share 22.9% 7.5% 15.4%
Year-to-Year Subscriber
Growth 10.5% 22.4% 1.5%
ARPU $49 $69 $51
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Business Model
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Year-to-year Revenue
Growth 16.30% 23.90% 0.60%
Profitable Yes Yes Yes
Cash Position ** $1.8 billion $898 million
Long-term Debt ** $12.1 billion $12.5 billion
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Network Infrastructure
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
2G Network CDMA iDEN/TDMA TDMA/GSM
2.5/3G Migration Path cdma2000 TBD GSM/GPRS to
EDGE/UMTS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ownership
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Investors Verizon Comm. Motorola SBC Communications
and Vodafone and BellSouth
Legal Status Private joint Public Private joint
venture venture

NBQ U.S. Mobile Operators 4Q02 Benchmark and Metrics* (continued)

Sprint PCS AT&T Wireless T-Mobile USA

NBQ Mobile
Operators Benchmark
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NBQ Ranking 4 5 (tied) 5 (tied)
NBQ Score 4.78 4.69 4.69
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Market Dynamics
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscriber Market Share 10.4% 14.7% 7.2%
Year-to-Year Subscriber
Growth 8.9% 13.7% 41.8%
ARPU $62 $60 $50
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Business Model
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Year-to-year Revenue
Growth 10.60% 14.70% 57.60%
Profitable No No No
Cash Position $394 million $2.4 billion $36.5 million
Long-term Debt $15.7 billion $11.1 billion $8.3 billion
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Network Infrastructure
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
2G Network CDMA TDMA GSM
2.5/3G Migration Path cdma2000 GSM/GPRS to GSM/GPRS to
EDGE/UMTS EDGE/UMTS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ownership
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Investors Sprint NTT DoCoMo Deutsche Telekom
Legal Status Public Public Subsidiary

* Partial metrics from NBQ benchmark methodology displayed in table above.

** Not reported directly; Verizon Communications has $1.4 billion in cash and $44.8 billion in long-term debt.

About TBR:

TBR is a leading industry advisory firm providing comprehensive analysis of high-tech firms from a combined business, financial and technical perspective. TBR specializes in the computer, networking, mobile and professional services industries. Financial results and business models serve as the basis of TBR’s analysis of vendors’ progress each quarter in meeting their strategic and functional objectives (product, marketing and manufacturing/supply chain). In each quarterly report, TBR tracks changes to the vendors’ internal strengths and weaknesses, along with external factors impacting market opportunities and competitive threats.

TBR’s Network Business Quarterly service provides coverage of the leaders in wireless network infrastructure, mobile phones, mobile operators and the mobile Internet. NBQ covers the six leading U.S. wireless carriers: AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless [a BellSouth and SBC Communications joint venture], Nextel Communications, Sprint PCS, Verizon Wireless [a Verizon Communications and Vodafone joint venture] and T-Mobile USA [a Deutsche Telekom subsidiary]. NBQ also includes coverage of Alcatel, Cisco, Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Lucent, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Nortel, Qualcomm, Samsung and Siemens.

Complete reports are available to accredited journalists.

For more information, please visit TBR’s Web site at www.tbri.com.

Contact: Bill Lesieur

Company: Technology Business Research, Inc.

Title: NBQ Director

Phone: 603-929-1166

Email: [email-masked]

Contact: Jon Lindy

Company: Technology Business Research, Inc.

Title: Vice President of Sales

Phone: 603-929-1166

Email: [email-masked]

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