Verizon Wireless Aids Smithville, Miss. Tornado Victims

SMITHVILLE, Miss., May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless has stationed a Crisis Response Team in Smithville, Miss. to provide storm victims with a lifeline to seek help or contact loved ones in the devastating aftermath of last week's tornadoes.

A Verizon Wireless RV has resided in the parking lot beside the Piggly Wiggly grocery store on Highway 25 in Smithville since Friday offering residents and first responders a place to charge wireless devices or connect to the internet via tablets and laptop computers. The Crisis Response Team also has a supply of activated phones for use on site by anyone whose phone may have been lost or damaged during the storm.

A Cell on Light Truck (COLT) has been deployed in the Smithville area to enhance network capacity due to the increased cell traffic after last week's storms, offering additional lines of communication for storm victims.

The Verizon Wireless charging station will remain operational until Tuesday, May 3 or the need is met and is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's fastest and most advanced 4G network and largest and most reliable 3G network, and serves more than 94 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 82,000 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.  

SOURCE Verizon Wireless