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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: October 3, 2001
                        (Date of earliest event reported)




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




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


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


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



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




================================================================================





<PAGE>   2





Item 5.  Other Events.


Attached as Exhibit 99 is a press release issued by the Company in connection
with a presentation by Ivan Seidenberg, President and co-Chief Executive Officer
at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia X Conference. Mr. Seidenberg indicated that
the Company was on track to be close to its guidance for third quarter financial
results. However, he said that the Company was continuing to assess the effects
of the recent terrorist attacks and that the events could result in an impact of
approximately two cents per share in the third and in the fourth quarter. Mr.
Seidenberg stated that revenue is on track to hit the targeted growth rate of 5%
for the year. The Company plans to release third quarter results on October 30,
2001.


Item 7.  Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(c)      Exhibits.

         99       Press release dated October 3, 2001, issued by Verizon
                  Communications Inc.











                                    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:       October 3, 2001                    /s/ Lawrence R. Whitman
     ------------------------------    ----------------------------------------
                                       Lawrence R. Whitman
                                       Senior Vice President and Controller









<PAGE>   3



                                  EXHIBIT INDEX


<Table>
<Caption>
       Exhibit
       Number     Description
       ------     -----------

<S>               <C>
         99       Press release dated October 3, 2001, issued by Verizon
                  Communications Inc.
</Table>









</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-99
<SEQUENCE>3
<FILENAME>d91129ex99.txt
<DESCRIPTION>PRESS RELEASE DATED OCTOBER 3, 2001
<TEXT>
<PAGE>   1
                                                                      EXHIBIT 99



NEWS RELEASE                                                     [VERIZON LOGO]



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                       CONTACT:
OCTOBER 3, 2001                             PETER THONIS
                                            212-395-2355
                                            peter.thonis@verizon.com

                                            BOB VARETTONI
                                            212-395-7726
                                            robert.a.varettoni@verizon.com


               VERIZON REPORTS ON RESTORATION EFFORTS IN WTC AREA
             AND PREVIEWS 3Q GROWTH IN DSL, LONG DISTANCE, WIRELESS

             COMPANY ASSESSING ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TERRORIST ATTACKS;
             VERIZON'S OPERATIONAL STRENGTH SPEEDS RECOVERY PROGRESS

                           THIRD-QUARTER EXPECTATIONS

         o        752,000 new wireless customers, for a total of 28.7 million
                  customers nationwide

         o        120,000 to 130,000 net new digital subscriber line (DSL)
                  customers, for a total of 960,000 to 970,000

         o        650,000 to 700,000 new long-distance customers, for a total of
                  6.6 to 6.7 million

         NEW YORK - Ivan Seidenberg, president and co-CEO of Verizon
Communications (NYSE:VZ), today described progress the company has made in
network recovery efforts following the recent terrorist attacks and also gave a
preview of certain key third-quarter operating statistics.

         Seidenberg made his remarks to analysts at the Goldman Sachs
Communacopia X conference in New York City.



<PAGE>   2

Verizon News Release, page 2



         "We continue to focus on growth drivers in the wireless, DSL and
long-distance markets," Seidenberg said, "and our execution remains focused on
our goals." He announced expected continued growth in wireless, DSL and
long-distance subscribers.

         Verizon Wireless continued its solid growth, with a net addition of
752,000 customers for a year-to-date total of 28.7 million.

         In DSL, Verizon expects customer additions of 120,000 to 130,000, for a
year-to-date total of 960,000 to 970,000. Previously announced year-end targets
are 1.2 to 1.3 million, and Seidenberg said there would be "a new marketing
thrust and ad campaign" for DSL in the fourth quarter.

         In long distance, Verizon expects customer additions of 650,000 to
700,000, for a year-to-date total of 6.6 to 6.7 million -- already nearing
previously announced increased year-end targets of 6.7 to 6.9 million. Following
federal approval last month to offer long distance in Pennsylvania, the company
is allowed to offer long-distance services to more than two-thirds of its access
lines.

         Seidenberg said that the company is "still assessing the financial
impact for the quarter just ended and any on-going effects for the year from the
attack." Verizon has previously stated that it believes insurance will
eventually cover the majority of restoration costs, which are in the process of
being quantified.

         Verizon plans to announce third-quarter earnings Oct. 30, and
Seidenberg said, "We will have a fuller picture of the impact of the crisis at
that time."

                                RECOVERY PROGRESS

         Seidenberg reported that the company has restored approximately 80
percent of voice service originally supplied by a severely damaged Verizon
building adjacent to the World Trade Center, either by providing services in
lower Manhattan or by providing alternative solutions -- such as rerouting
numbers to new customer locations.



<PAGE>   3

Verizon News Release, page 3



         Although the terrorist attacks in New York destroyed or disrupted
200,000 voice access lines, 100,000 business lines, 3.6 million data circuits
and 10 cellular towers, Verizon has "virtually rebuilt the entire communications
network in lower Manhattan," Seidenberg said. Following the tragedy, Verizon
completed twice the normal call volumes, kept the rest of its network around the
country operating normally and restored service so that the New York Stock
Exchange reopened to a record-setting trading day on Sept. 17.

         "Scale and scope matter," Seidenberg said. "The ability to draw on our
diverse, national resources was invaluable. We had the processes and experienced
people in place, as well as the industry-wide cooperation, to deal with a
restoration effort of such enormous magnitude. Our ability to recover shows the
operational and financial strength of this company."

         Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading
providers of communications services. Verizon companies are the largest
providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with 125
million access line equivalents and more than 28 million wireless customers.
Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world. A Fortune 10
company with about 260,000 employees and more than $65 billion in annual
revenues, Verizon's global presence extends to 40 countries in the Americas,
Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit
www.verizon.com.

                                      ####

ON THE INTERNET: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, news
media contacts and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on
the World Wide Web (www.verizon.com/news). To receive news releases by email,
visit the News Center and register for personalized automatic delivery of
Verizon news releases.

NOTE: This press release is being issued concurrently with the presentation
referred to in the text. 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: 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, universal service, 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





<PAGE>   4

Verizon News Release, page 4



and profitability of our entry into the in-region long-distance market; our
ability to combine former Bell Atlantic and GTE operations, satisfy regulatory
conditions and obtain revenue enhancements and cost savings; the profitability
of our entry into the broadband access market; the ability of Verizon Wireless
to combine operations and achieve revenue enhancements and cost savings, and
obtain sufficient spectrum resources; our ability to convert our ownership
interest in Genuity Inc. into a controlling interest consistent with regulatory
conditions, and Genuity's ensuing profitability; and changes in our accounting
assumptions that may be required by regulatory agencies, including the SEC, or
that result from changes in the accounting rules or their application, which
could result in an impact on earnings.


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