Text Messaging Use in South Carolina Soars by Nearly 500 Percent

GREENVILLE, S.C. (Map) - GREENVILLE, S.C., July 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2008 "Big City Wireless Use Study," commissioned by Verizon Wireless, reveals that there is exponential growth in text messaging in South Carolina and across the South area. The study showed an increase in text messaging among the company's South Carolina customers by nearly 500 percent in 24 months (April 2006 to April 2008), making the Palmetto State among the most text-savvy states in the South.

The study revealed that Verizon Wireless customers in Greenville earned the number one spot in the state as the "textiest city" with customers sending and receiving over 116 million text messages in April of 2008, compared to almost 19 million texts sent and received in April of 2006.

Text message use in the US has increased significantly over the years. In fact, according to a CTIA-The Wireless Association(R) evaluation, text message sending and receiving jumped from 14.4 million in 2000 to 48.1 billion in 2007.

Because of the incredible growth of text messaging across the US, Verizon Wireless recently decided to evaluate customer texting habits in the Southeastern states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia over a 24-month period. Texting use is highlighted in several South Carolina cities below:

    South       Number of Text Messages     South     Number of Text Messages
   Carolina        Sent and Received       Carolina      Sent and Received
    City                                    City
                 April 2006   April 2008              April 2006  April 2008
    Anderson      4,049,746   25,071,855   Greenville  18,940,327 116,337,769
    Bluffton      1,201,672    7,415,188   Greenwood    5,399,356  27,274,291
    Calhoun       2,461,166   11,315,133   Lancaster    2,911,462  17,395,918
    Charleston    5,743,749   31,698,177   Myrtle
                                           Beach          869,369   6,052,970
    Cherokee      2,197,220   11,153,016   Oconee
                                           County       1,169,231   7,695,988
    Columbia     10,466,816   59,005,549   Sumter         795,009   4,228,361
    Florence      2,395,952   12,209,855

"The Big City Wireless Use study allows our customers in South Carolina to get a true idea of how often they use their cell phones and wireless devices to do much more than simply place a phone call," said Jerry Fountain, Verizon Wireless president for the Carolinas/Tennessee region. "Text messaging is a quick and easy way to communicate information efficiently to family and friends, and people are realizing the benefits of adopting this form of communication."

Verizon Wireless customers have a wide range of texting plans available to them, on both Individual and FamilyShare plans. Basic messaging services start at $0.20 for messages sent and received, or customers can opt for bundle plans. For $5 a month, customers get 200 text messages to use with any wireless customer, and for $20 a month, customers can send and receive 5,000 messages per month. Verizon Wireless prepay customers can get unlimited text, picture and video messaging to Verizon Wireless customers nationwide, plus an additional 250 text, picture and video messages each month for $10 a month. To complement each individual's texting plan, customers now have more options on text-friendly phones such as the new Samsung Gleam, Samsung Glyde, LG enV2, LG Decoy, LG Dare or Voyager by LG.

For more information about text messaging products and services, visit www.verizonwireless.com and www.vtext.com.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 68.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 70,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, go to: 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.