Dividends received from investees amounted to $162 million in 2004, $198 million in 2003 and $182 million in 2002, respectively.

Equity Investees
CANTV
Compañia Anónima Nacional Teléfonos de Venezuela (CANTV) is Venezuela’s largest full-service telecommunications provider. CANTV offers local services, national and international long distance, Internet access and wireless services in Venezuela as well as public telephone, private network, data transmission, directory and other value-added services.

During 2002, we recorded a pretax loss of $1,400 million ($1,400 million after-tax) due to the other than temporary decline in the market value of our investment in CANTV. As a result of the political and economic instability in Venezuela, including the devaluation of the Venezuelan bolivar, and the related impact on CANTV’s future economic prospects, we no longer expected that the future undiscounted cash flows applicable to CANTV were sufficient to recover our investment. Accordingly, we wrote our investment down to market value as of March 31, 2002.

Vodafone Omnitel
Vodafone Omnitel N.V. (Vodafone Omnitel) is an Italian digital cellular telecommunications company. It is the second largest wireless provider in Italy. At December 31, 2004 and 2003, our investment in Vodafone Omnitel included goodwill of $1,072 million and $996 million, respectively.

TELUS
TELUS Corporation (TELUS) is a full-service telecommunications provider and provides subscribers with a full range of telecommunications products and services including data, voice and wireless services across Canada.

During the fourth quarter of 2004, we recorded a pretax gain of $787 million ($565 million after-tax) on the sale of our 20.5% interest in TELUS in an underwritten public offering in the U.S. and Canada. In connection with this sale transaction, Verizon recorded a contribution of $100 million to Verizon Foundation to fund its charitable activities and increase its self-sufficiency. Consequently, we recorded a net gain of $500 million after taxes related to this transaction and the accrual of the Verizon Foundation contribution.

In 2002, we recorded a pretax loss of $580 million ($430 million after-tax) to the market value of our investment in TELUS. We determined that the market value decline in this investment was considered other than temporary.

Other Equity Investees
Verizon has limited partnership investments in entities that invest in affordable housing projects, for which Verizon provides funding as a limited partner and receives tax deductions and tax credits based on its partnership interests. At December 31, 2004 and 2003, Verizon had equity investments in these partnerships of $755 million and $863 million, respectively. Verizon currently adjusts the carrying value of these investments for any losses incurred by the limited partnerships through earnings.

CTI provides wireless services in Argentina. During 2002, we recorded a pretax loss of $230 million ($190 million after-tax) to fair value due to the other than temporary decline in the fair value of our remaining investment in CTI as a result of the impact of the deterioration of the Argentinean economy and the devaluation of the Argentinean peso on CTI’s financial position. As a result of this 2002 charge, our financial exposure related to our equity investment in CTI was eliminated as of year-end 2002. On March 28, 2002, Verizon transferred 5.5 million of its shares in CTI to an indirectly wholly owned subsidiary of Verizon and subsequently transferred ownership of that subsidiary to a newly created trust for CTI employees. This decreased Verizon’s ownership percentage in CTI from 65% to 48%. We also reduced our representation on CTI’s board of directors from five of nine members to four of nine (subsequently reduced to one of five members). As a result of these actions that surrender control of CTI, we changed our method of accounting for this investment from consolidation to the equity method. On June 3, 2002, as a result of an option exercised by Telfone (BVI) Limited (Telfone), a CTI shareholder, Verizon acquired approximately 5.3 million additional CTI shares. Also on June 3, 2002, we transferred ownership of a wholly owned subsidiary of Verizon that held 5.4 million CTI shares to a second independent trust leaving us with an approximately 48% non-controlling interest in CTI. Since we had no other future commitments or plans to fund CTI’s operations and had written our investment down to zero, in accordance with the accounting rules for equity method investments, we ceased recording operating income or losses related to CTI’s operations beginning in 2002. On October 16, 2003, we sold our entire remaining interest in CTI.

During 2003, we recorded a pretax gain of $348 million on the sale of our interest in Eurotel Praha, spol. s r.o. In connection with this sale transaction, Verizon recorded a contribution of $150 million to Verizon Foundation to fund its charitable activities and increase its self-sufficiency. Consequently, we recorded a net gain of $27 million after taxes related to this transaction and the accrual of the Verizon Foundation contribution.

The remaining investments include wireless partnerships in the U.S., publishing joint ventures and several other domestic and international investments.

Cost Investees
Some of our cost investments are carried at their current market value. Other cost investments are carried at their original cost, except in cases where we have determined that a decline in the estimated market value of an investment is other than temporary as described in Note 6.

Genuity
Prior to the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE in 2000, we owned and consolidated Genuity, which was deconsolidated in June 2000 as a condition of the merger in connection with an initial public offering. Our remaining ownership interest in Genuity contained a contingent conversion feature that gave us the option to regain control of Genuity and was dependent on obtaining approvals to provide long distance service in the former Bell Atlantic region and satisfaction of other regulatory and legal requirements. On July 24, 2002, we converted all but one of our shares of Class B common stock of Genuity into shares of Class A common stock of Genuity and relinquished our right to convert our current ownership into a controlling interest in Genuity. On December 18, 2002, we sold all of our Class A common stock of Genuity. (See Note 6 for additional information.)

Other Cost Investees
TCNZ is the principal provider of telecommunications services in New Zealand. During 2002, we sold nearly all of our investment in TCNZ (see Note 6 for additional information). As of December 31, 2003, we held an insignificant interest in TCNZ, which was sold in 2004.

Other cost investments include a variety of domestic and international investments primarily involved in providing telecommunication services.

Summarized Financial Information
Summarized financial information for our equity investees is as follows: