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What/When: 
On June 13, 2012, Verizon Wireless deployed a repeater to provide wireless coverage and capacity for emergency crews battling the Little Bear Fire near Ruidoso, NM.  

Reliability:    
In addition to its fleet of mobile equipment, Verizon Wireless’ industry-leading network redundancy and maintenance practices have proven especially valuable to first responders during natural disasters and emergencies across the country.  Standard Verizon Wireless network-reliability features include battery back-up power at virtually all facilities as well as generators at all switching facilities and many cell site locations.

Network investment:
Since 2000, Verizon Wireless has invested more than $550 million in its New Mexico and El Paso, Texas network and more than $70 billion nationally.

Emergency preparedness:

• “We Keep You Connected When You Count on Us the Most” and “Making Wireless Reliable in the West” take viewers to Verizon Wireless cell sites, mobile cell sites, switches and other network operations to show how the company prepares for natural disasters.
• The “Connecting Arizona communities during the Wallow Fire” video features interviews with first responders, evacuees and Verizon Wireless personnel involved in the 2011 emergency response to Arizona’s largest wildfire, the Wallow Fire. 
• Tips for preparing disaster communications plans and videos with details about Verizon Wireless’ preparations before, during and after an emergency are available at www.verizonwireless.com/emergencypreparedness. 

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 93.0 million retail customers, including 88.0 million retail postpaid customers.  Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 80,000 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.