From the streets of Manhattan to the hills of Hollywood,

NEW YORK, June 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- We’ve reached a milestone with the results in for 100 of the 125 metro areas tested as part of the 1H 2018 U.S. RootMetrics® Metro Rootscore Reports. As the nation’s most rigorous, independent scientific study, RootMetrics has declared Verizon undefeated in 76 of these 100 metro areas.

How does Verizon Remain on Top for Customers?

“Our millions of customers across the country enjoy a consistently superior network experience because our engineers focus every day to deliver the network you can count on,” said Tami Erwin, Verizon’s Executive Vice President of Wireless Operations. “We are committed to delivering the best customer experience not just on our network, but on the plans you choose as well. Starting today, you can mix and match different Verizon unlimited plans – all on the same, easy-to-manage account.”

From Chicago to Dallas, from LA to New York, and dozens of markets in-between, Verizon has you covered. Here are the metro areas where Verizon remains unbeaten:

Consistently Recognized By Many Independent Third Parties

Nationwide, we continue to have an overwhelming lead over the competition across the vast majority of third party tests, due to our consistent network investment and deployment of the latest technologies. Just this year, Verizon was ranked #1 in the nation for a record ninth time in a row by RootMetrics®*; received more awards than any other wireless provider in the J.D. Power Wireless Network Quality Performance Study ** (20th time in a row); was recognized as best in streaming***; and in April was found to deliver the best real-world download speeds by Tutela , a widely installed network testing software, with over 250 million devices globally.****

What does this mean for you?

Having lots of awards from multiple independent testers is nice, but that’s not why we’ve built the nation’s best, most reliable wireless 4G LTE network, the largest in the country covering 2.5 million square miles. We’ve built it so you’ll be able to use your device when and how you want to. Whatever matters most to you – whether it’s streaming music or a movie, watching your favorite pro football team during preseason on Yahoo! Sports, sharing that perfect moment with your friends, or connecting with loved ones to make sure they are OK after extreme weather or other emergency  – you can do it best with Verizon.

2018 promises even more exciting technology firsts for our customers, including our next generation 5G network. To learn more about some of those improvements and the work our engineers are doing, check out these videos on why we’re Best For a Good Reason .

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ ) (Nasdaq: VZ ), headquartered in New York City, generated $126 billion in 2017 revenues. The company operates America’s most reliable wireless network and the nation’s premier all-fiber network, and delivers integrated solutions to businesses worldwide. Its Oath subsidiary reaches about one billion people around the world with a dynamic house of media and technology brands.

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*Rankings based on the RootMetrics US National (2H 2017) and Metro (1H 2018) RootScore Reports. Tested with best commercially available smartphones on 4 national mobile networks across all available network types. Your experiences may vary. The RootMetrics award is not an endorsement of Verizon. Visit www.rootmetrics.com for more details.

 ** Verizon Wireless received the highest numerical score among wireless service providers in the J.D. Power 2017 (V1 & V2) & 2018 (V1) U.S. Wireless Network Quality Performance Studies rating it Highest Wireless Network Quality Performance across the Nation. 2018 V1 study is based on 38,595 total responses, measuring the network quality experienced by customers with wireless phones, surveyed July-December 2017. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com

*** Based on Verizon interpretation of Nielsen Video Test data collected nationally between 10.1.17 and 3.31.18

**** Verizon customers received the best overall download speeds across the U.S., according to a study of United States’ mobile performance in April by Tutela. During a typical-activity network test, Verizon users received a download speed of 21 Mbps, with AT&T at 14Mbps, T-Mobile at 11.75, and Sprint at 8.51Mbps on average, across the country.

Media Contact:  Laura Merritt 614-561-2605 Laura.merritt@verizonwireless.com twitter.com/MerrittLBliss