[New service launched in select California markets allows customers to replace standard ring with short clips of real music. ]

Bedminster, NJ and Irvine, Calif. -- Verizon Wireless announced it is the first national carrier to offer Ringback Tones -- short clips of real music that replace the standard ring callers hear when they call the Verizon Wireless phone of a Ringback Tone subscriber. Customers in Sacramento and throughout southern California are the first to be able to personalize the sounds callers hear before a call is answered.

Customers can browse from an initial catalog of more than 2,200 songs in 13 different music genres from Warner Music Group and Sony BMG Music Entertainment, including RAP Hip Hop, Soundtracks, Metal/Alternative, R&B/Soul, 80's, Classic Rock, Pop/Rock, Country, Club Hits, 70's, Oldies, 60's and Holiday. Set-up options include a standard ringback tone (including the Verizon Wireless standard ringback tone), or customers can choose to have different ringback tones play for different callers based on the Caller ID, Group List or the time of day.

To get Ringback Tones, customers can go to the Ringback Tones Web site. On the Web, customers can register, browse the categories and preview ringback tones before they buy. Customers can also sign up to receive a TXT alert whenever selected artists release new ringback tones by visiting the My Alerts section of the site and selecting TXT notifications. Standard text messaging rates apply to these TXT alerts.

Customers can also sign up for Ringback Tones right from their TXT Messaging-capable phones. Sign up is easy. Send the TXT message "RBT" to address "728." Reply to accept the service, and send the TXT message "List" to "728" to receive a list of ringback tones available for purchase. A list of song ID codes will be sent to the phone as a TXT message and customers can purchase a ringback tone by sending the song ID code as a TXT message to "728." Standard text messaging rates may apply. From that point on, all callers will hear the new ringback tone. Customers can manage who gets to hear their ringback tone, purchase more tones and manage their accounts by visiting www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/ringbacktones.

Ringback Tones are available to Verizon Wireless customers in Sacramento and Southern California markets beginning today for a monthly fee of $0.99 per month. Each ringback tone purchased is $1.99, which provides unlimited use for one year. Both the monthly fee and cost for each tone appear on the customer's monthly bill.

Verizon Wireless expects Ringback Tones to be available throughout its network by mid-2005.

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