Verizon Wireless Invested $131.6 million In South Carolina

South Carolina was a major source of Verizon Wireless network improvements in 2006, with a total of $131.6 million spent. This is part of a $445 million investment since 2000 in the area.

Verizon Wireless also launched the company's Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) third generation (3G) wide-area network in several SC markets, including Columbia, Greenville, Myrtle Beach, and Charleston. Verizon Wireless' national EV-DO network now includes 181 major metropolitan areas and is currently available to approximately 200 million Americans coast to coast.

The company maintains a retail presence in South Carolina, and also made improvements in these stores. There were new job openings due to retail expansions in Greenville, Orangeburg, and Florence. The employment presence in South Carolina has gone up enough that Verizon Wireless was named in the "Top 25" of South Carolina Chamber's "Big Fifty" employers list in 2006, with more than 4,000 people employed in the state.