Your vote is very important. You can vote your shares at the Annual Meeting if you are present in person or represented by proxy. You may revoke your proxy at any time before the Annual Meeting by delivering written notice to the Corporate Secretary, by submitting a proxy bearing a later date or by appearing in person and casting a ballot at the Annual Meeting.

Who can vote? Shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 6, 2006 (also referred to as the Record Date) are entitled to vote. On that date, approximately 2.9 billion shares of common stock were outstanding and eligible to vote. Each share is entitled to one vote on each matter presented at the Annual Meeting.

How do I vote? You may vote in person at the Annual Meeting or you may vote by proxy without attending the Meeting. If you are a registered shareholder, you may vote your shares by giving a proxy via mail, telephone or Internet. To vote your proxy by mail, indicate your voting choices, sign and date your proxy card and return it in the postage-paid envelope provided. You may vote by telephone or Internet by following the instructions on your proxy card. If you hold your shares through a broker, bank or other nominee, that institution will send you separate instructions describing the procedure for voting your shares.

What shares are represented by the proxy card? The proxy card represents all the shares registered in your name as of March 6, 2006. If you participate in the Verizon Communications Direct Invest Plan, the card also represents any full shares held in your account. If you are an employee who participates in a Verizon employee savings plan and you also hold shares in your own name, you will receive a single proxy card that includes the plan shares attributable to the units that you hold in the plan, and the shares registered in your name. Your proxy card or proxy submitted by telephone or Internet will serve as voting instructions to the plan trustee.

How does the Proxy Committee vote my shares? If you provide a properly executed proxy before voting at the Annual Meeting is closed, the Proxy Committee will vote the proxy in accordance with your directions. If you do not indicate how your shares are to be voted, the Proxy Committee will vote your shares as recommended by the Board of Directors. The Proxy Committee will also have the discretionary authority to vote on your behalf on any other matter that is properly brought before the Annual Meeting. If you wish to give a proxy to someone other than the Proxy Committee, please cross out the names of the Proxy Committee and add the name of the person holding your proxy.

How are votes counted? If we receive a valid proxy before voting at the Annual Meeting is closed, your shares are voted as indicated on the proxy card. If you indicate on your proxy card that you wish to “abstain” or “withhold”, as the case may be, from voting on an item, your shares will not be voted on that item. Abstentions or withhold votes are not counted in determining the number of shares voted with respect to any nominee for Director or any management or shareholder proposal, but will be counted to determine whether there is a quorum present.

If you do not provide voting instructions to your broker or nominee at least ten days before the Annual Meeting, that person has discretion to vote your shares on matters that the New York Stock Exchange has determined are routine. However, a nominee cannot vote shares on non-routine matters without your instructions, and this is referred to as a "broker non-vote." Broker non-votes are only counted in determining whether a quorum is present.

If you are an employee who participates in a Verizon employee savings plan and you do not return a proxy card or otherwise give voting instructions for the plan shares, the trustee of your plan will vote those shares in the same proportion as the shares for which the trustee receives voting instructions from other participants in that plan. To allow sufficient time for the savings plan trustees to tabulate the vote of the plan shares, we must receive your proxy voting instructions by May 1, 2006.

What vote is required? The Annual Meeting cannot conduct business unless a quorum is present. In order to have a quorum, a majority of the shares of Verizon common stock that are outstanding and entitled to vote at the meeting must be represented in person or by proxy. If a quorum is not present, the Annual Meeting will be rescheduled for a later date.

Directors are elected by a plurality of the votes cast. The management and shareholder proposals described in the Proxy Statement must be approved by a majority of the votes cast. Any shares not voted (whether by abstention, broker non-vote or otherwise) will have no effect on the outcome.

Who will tabulate the vote? The Company’s transfer agent, Computershare Trust Company, N.A., will tally the vote, and the independent inspectors of election will certify the results.

Is my vote confidential? It is the Company’s policy to maintain the confidentiality of proxy cards, ballots and voting tabulations that identify individual shareholders, except where disclosure is mandated by law and in other limited circumstances.

Who is the Company’s proxy solicitor? Georgeson Shareholder Communications Inc. has been retained by the Company to assist in the distribution of proxy materials and solicitation of votes for a base fee of $17,500, plus reimbursable expenses and custodial charges.

Where can I find the voting results of the Annual Meeting? Voting results will be available on our website at www.verizon.com/investor and will be included in the Company’s Form 10-Q for the second quarter which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in August 2006.

How may I request an electronic set of proxy materials? To sign up for electronic delivery of future proxy materials, go to www.verizon.equiserve.com. You may also sign up when you vote by Internet at www.computershare.com/us/proxy and follow the instructions. Once you sign up, you will no longer receive a printed copy of the proxy materials, unless you request one. Each year you will receive an e-mail explaining how to access the proxy materials on-line as well as how to vote your shares on-line. You may suspend electronic delivery of the proxy materials at any time by contacting Computershare Trust Company, N.A (by telephone at 1-800-631-2355 or in writing at P.O. Box 43005, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-3005).

Why did I receive only one set of proxy materials when there are several shareholders at my address? We have adopted a procedure approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission called “householding.” Under this procedure, eligible shareholders who share a single address receive only one copy of the Annual Report and Proxy Statement at their household unless we receive notice that they wish to continue to receive individual copies. This procedure does not apply to shareholders who have signed up for electronic delivery of proxy materials.

How may I request a single set of proxy materials for my household? Contact Computershare Trust Company, N.A. (by telephone at 1-800-631-2355 or in writing at P.O. Box 43005, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-3005) and you will receive a single copy of the Annual Report and Proxy Statement each year, beginning 30 days after receipt of your instructions. If you hold your shares through a broker, bank or other nominee, you can contact your broker, bank or nominee to request a single set of proxy materials.

What if I have questions about my stock account, dividends, how to transfer my shares or similar matters? Please contact Verizon’s transfer agent, Computershare Trust Company, N.A. (by telephone at 1-800-631-2355 or in writing at P.O. Box 43005, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-3005) with questions concerning stock certificates, dividend checks, transfer of ownership or other matters pertaining to your stock account.