Verizon Wireless upgrades service in St. Augustine, Fernandina Beach & Orange Park

Verizon Wireless upgrades service in St. Augustine, Fernandina Beach & Orange Park

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - Customers on Florida's "First Coast" should enjoy enhanced and more reliable wireless service now that Verizon Wireless has activated three new advanced digital cell sites in Fernandina Beach, St. Augustine and Orange Park.

The first site, which is located on County Road 214 in St. Augustine, is designed to expand coverage along County Road 214 and State Road 13. The second site was activated along Pandys Place in Fernandina Beach to enhance service to the residential developments near Nassauville Road and State Road 200 (A1A). The site located on Cheswick Oaks Avenue in Orange Park will improve coverage to the residential areas near Argyle Boulevard and Branan Field Road.

The new sites utilize the most advanced 3G high-speed wireless network (EV-DO Rev. A), which allows customers to enjoy clearer call reception and faster speeds when sending text or multimedia messages. It also complements more advanced wireless services, such as V CAST - which allows customers to stream video clips, play cutting-edge 3D games and download full song tracks over the air; VZ Navigator - a location-based service offering maps, audible driving directions, traffic updates, gas station locations and pricing; and the newest, most reliable Push To Talk technology.

In addition, customers using the company's BroadbandAccess data service to wirelessly access their email and calendars, the Internet and other information, can expect average download speeds of 600 kilobits per second (kbps) to 1.4 megabits per second and average upload speeds of 500-800 kbps. At those speeds, customers can upload or download a 1 Megabyte e-mail attachment - the equivalent of a small PowerPoint® presentation or a large PDF file - in less than two seconds.

The new sites are part of the company's continuing investment to expand coverage, increase capacity and enhance the quality of its wireless voice and data network throughout the country. Verizon Wireless has invested more than $1.8 billion in Florida and $45 billion nationally since the company was formed. The company spent $250 million to enhance services and coverage in Florida during the past 18 months.