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                                  UNITED STATES

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             WASHINGTON, 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: April 23, 2002
                        (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
        incorporation)                                       Identification No.)


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


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



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

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Item 5.  Other Events.

Attached as exhibits are a press release issued by Verizon Communications Inc.
on April 23, 2002 and selected slides, announcing earnings for the first quarter
of 2002 and presenting supplemental information about the Company's financial
and other projections.

           Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This Current Report on Form 8-K 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 conditions in the markets
served by us or by companies in which we have substantial investments; material
changes in available technology; an adverse change in the ratings afforded our
debt securities by nationally accredited ratings organizations; the final
outcome of federal, state, and local regulatory initiatives and proceedings,
including arbitration proceedings, and judicial review of those initiatives and
proceedings, pertaining to, among other matters, the terms of interconnection,
access charges, and unbundled network element and resale rates; the extent,
timing, success, and overall effects of competition from others in the local
telephone and toll service markets; the timing and profitability of our entry
and expansion in the national long-distance market; our ability to satisfy
regulatory merger conditions and obtain combined company revenue enhancements
and cost savings; the profitability of our broadband operations; the ability of
Verizon Wireless to achieve revenue enhancements and cost savings, and obtain
sufficient spectrum resources; the outcome of litigation concerning the FCC
NextWave spectrum auction; the continuing financial needs of Genuity Inc., our
ability to convert our ownership interest in Genuity into a controlling interest
consistent with regulatory conditions, and Genuity's ensuing profitability; 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.



Item 7.  Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(c)      Exhibits.

         99.1     Press release and financial tables, dated April 23, 2002,
                  issued by Verizon Communications Inc. and contained in its
                  Investor Relations Bulletin.

         99.2     Selected slides containing supplemental information about the
                  Company's financial and other projections and which will be
                  posted on the Company's website.

                                    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: April 23, 2002                     /s/ Lawrence R. Whitman
     ---------------                     ------------------------------------
                                         Lawrence R. Whitman
                                         Senior Vice President and Controller




                                  EXHIBIT INDEX





EXHIBIT
NUMBER          DESCRIPTION
-------         -----------
             


 99.1           Press release and financial tables, dated April 23, 2002, issued
                by Verizon Communications Inc. and contained in its Investor
                Relations Bulletin.

 99.2           Selected slides containing supplemental information about the
                Company's financial and other projections and which will be
                posted on the Company's website.