RNS Number:2628S
Verizon Communications
19 November 2003


                                 UNITED STATES
                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION      
                            WASHlNGTON, D.C. 20549
                                  FORM 8-K
                               CURRENT REPORT


     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

                    Date of Report: November 17, 2003 
                    (Date of earliest event reported)


                         VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. 
          (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

                                                                             
          Delaware                         1-8606                                  23-2259884
(State or other jurisdiction of     (Commission File Number)          (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)      
      incorporation)

     1095 Avenue of the Americas
         New York, New York                                                          10036 
(Address of principal executive offices)                                           (Zip Code)


      Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (212) 395-2121


                              Not applicable 
        (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

 


Item 9. Regulation FD Disclosure.

Below is a press release issued by Verizon Communications Inc. in connection
with a presentation by Vice Chairman and President Lawrence T. Babbio Jr. on
November 17, 2003 at the UBS Eighth Annual Global Communications Conference. Mr.
Babbio reviewed the longer-term strategies on network upgrades as well as future
service offerings, and he described near-term revenue plans and cost savings
aimed at preserving current margins.  He indicated that, excluding the impact of
a one-time lump-sum payment to union employees and the impact of lower pension
income net of other post-retirement benefit costs and other adjustments, the
Company expects fourth quarter Domestic Telecom margins to improve compared to
the third quarter 2003. Mr. Babbio also discussed the Company's recent voluntary
separation offer to employees, local number portability, and deployment plans
for fiber to the premises and Voice Over Internet Protocol.


                                                                  (VERIZON LOGO)
 
NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                  MEDIA CONTACTS;
NOV. 17, 2003                                          PETER THONIS 
                                                       212-395-2355 
                                                       peter.thonis@verizon.com


                  VERIZON VICE CHAIRMAN ADDRESSES UBS CONFERENCE

NEW YORK - At the UBS Eighth Annual Global Communications Conference here today,
Verizon Vice Chairman and President Lawrence T. Babbio Jr. addressed a range of
issues of investor interest.  He reviewed the longer-term strategies on network
upgrades as well as future service offerings, and he described near-term revenue
plans and cost savings aimed at preserving current margins.  Other topics
included the recent voluntary separation offer to employees, wireless local
number portability (LNP), and development plans for fiber to the premises (FTTP)
and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP).

ON REVENUES AND GROWTH:

Babbio described the company-wide effort to drive revenue growth by focusing on
opportunities in wireless, the large business or Enterprise segment and
"bundled" packages of local, long-distance and high-speed broadband (DSL)
connections for consumers and general business.  He noted that in 2001, 52
percent of Verizon's revenues came from the traditional voice telephone
business, a highly regulated sector of the industry undergoing historic shifts
due to technology and competition.  Today, a much bigger share of Verizon's
revenue base comes from the newer growth markets, and 44 percent of Verizon's
revenues come from the traditional voice business. This changing mix has led to
overall revenue growth at Verizon, which has provided guidance to 0 - 2 percent
comparable revenue growth for the year. *

ON EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN MARGINS AND REDUCE EXPENSES:

Babbio said that approximately 21,600 employees, including 5,600 union-
represented employees, will leave the payroll by the end of this week as a
result of recent voluntary separation offers.  This is less than 10 percent of
Verizon's total employee base.  The plan was targeted primarily to managers in
the Domestic Telecom business unit nationwide, to union-represented employees in
the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, and to employees in Verizon Information
Services.

Babbio characterized the benefits of this program to Verizon as significant.  He
said that Verizon is further controlling its own destiny by aggressively reducing
expenses in those businesses affected by harmful regulatory burdens and
continued uncertainty - allowing the company to shift resources to growth areas
in wireline and wireless, and speeding the business transformation described
above.  He said the wage savings created by the program will accelerate expense
reductions required next year, taking risks out of the company's 2004 plan.

He added that Verizon will fill a small percentage of the vacancies this program
creates, but overall, process improvements will allow Verizon to improve
productivity and capture a great deal of the savings created by this program.

As reported in its most recent Report on Form 10-Q, Verizon is currently
analyzing data to determine the accounting charge the company expects to take in
the fourth quarter related to this program, Babbio noted.  This charge will
include cash severance pay-outs and pension-related costs.

ON WIRELESS LNP:

Babbio said Verizon is well prepared for LNP. He said the value proposition that
Verizon Wireless offers to customers combined with the unrivaled quality of the
Verizon Wireless network have produced a rapidly growing, profitable business
that puts the company in a strong position as the Nov. 24 deadline approaches. 
He added that LNP represents an opportunity for Verizon Wireless to reinforce
its leadership position, and said Verizon is committed to make the experience as
easy as possible for both wireline and wireless customers.

In terms of Verizon's wireline business, Babbio said that Verizon's customer
research does not indicate any significant pent-up demand for porting numbers
from wireline to wireless phones.

ON FIBER TO THE PREMISES AND VOICE OVER IP:

Babbio announced that Verizon has selected vendors to provide the fiber-optic
and electronic equipment for the company's deployment of FTTP systems (see
related press release today).  He also reiterated plans to have the new
technology pass 1 million homes across nine states in 2004, without an increase
to historical capital spending levels. He said wireline capital expense will be
approximately $7 billion this year, and the company expects it to remain at
approximately the same level in 2004.

Babbio described plans to begin rolling out Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP)
offerings in the second quarter 2004, targeting DSL users and the consumer
market.

* - See http://investor.verizon.com/financial/quarterly/vz/3Q2003/ for a
reconciliation to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for the non-
GAAP measure of comparable revenue growth mentioned in this press release.

A Fortune 10 company, Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's
leading providers of communications services, with approximately $67 billion in
revenues and 221,000 employees.  Verizon companies are the largest providers of
wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with more than 139
million access line equivalents and 36 million Verizon Wireless customers, with
nearly 16 million long-distance lines.  The company is also the largest
directory publisher in the world, as measured by directory titles and
circulation.  Verizon's international presence includes wireline and wireless
communications operations and investments, primarily in the Americas and Europe.
For more information, visit www.verizon.com.



                                        ####

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and
biographies, media contacts and other information are available at Verizon's
News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news
releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic
delivery of Verizon news releases.


NOTE: This press release contains statements about expected future events and
financial results that are forward-looking and subject to risks and
uncertainties. For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor
for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. The following important factors could affect future results
and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the
forward-looking statements: the duration and extent of the current economic
downturn; materially adverse changes in economic and industry conditions and
labor matters, including workforce levels and labor negotiations, and any
resulting financial and/or operational impact in the markets served by us or by
companies in which we have substantial investments; material changes in
available technology; technology substitution; an adverse change in the ratings
afforded our debt securities by nationally accredited ratings organizations; the
final results of federal and state regulatory proceedings concerning our
provision of retail and wholesale services and judicial review of those results;
the effects of competition in our markets; our ability to satisfy regulatory
merger conditions, the ability of Verizon Wireless to continue to obtain
sufficient spectrum resources;  our ability to recover insurance proceeds
relating to equipment losses and other adverse financial impacts resulting from
the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001; and changes in our accounting
assumptions that regulatory agencies, including the SEC, may require or that
result from changes in the accounting rules or their application, which could
result in an impact on earnings.




                                   SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.


                                             Verizon Communications Inc. 
                                                     (Registrant)


Date:     November 18, 2003                 /s/ David H. Benson

                                            Davis H. Benson 
                                            Senior Vice President 
                                            and Controller





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