VZ: Verizon Business Wins Ethernet Market Leadership Award

Verizon Business is the winner of the 2006 Ethernet Provider of the Year Award for Market Leadership.

The award -- from Heavy Reading, a leading industry analyst firm -- recognizes Verizon Business' success in the marketplace, broad and expansive service portfolio, geographic coverage and impressive revenue growth. The honor also recognizes Verizon Business' leadership in industry forums such as the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF), which presented Verizon Business with the U.S. Carrier Ethernet Service Provider of the Year - Best in Business Award in June.


"I believe this award from Heavy Reading reinforces our position as the market leader in this high-growth strategic area of the telecommunications market," said Tom Roche, vice president of marketing for network voice and data services for Verizon Business. "We were one of the first providers to offer Ethernet, and we are determined to continue the trend of strong leadership and commitment to our customers and the industry in this space."


Stan Hubbard, senior analyst with Heavy Reading, said, "Among other things, Verizon Business has played a lead role in shaping industry debate around carrier Ethernet, developed a broad and expanding service portfolio, extended the benefits of high-performance Ethernet solutions to a wide range of industry verticals, and driven Ethernet to more locations in metro, national, and international markets.


"In short, Verizon Business mounted the most impressive carrier Ethernet sales, marketing and product development efforts of any North American operator in 2006."



Verizon Business accepted the Market Leadership award at the Ethernet Expo on October 25 in New York City. At the event, Verizon Business also announced an expansion of its Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL) International service to the Asia-Pacific region.


In addition to receiving the Ethernet service provider of the year award from the MEF, Verizon Business received MEF certification in April for its complete suite of global Carrier Ethernet services. As a leading provider of these services, Verizon Business was among the first providers to receive certification for adopting global Ethernet interoperability standards as defined by the MEF.


Verizon Business was the only service provider to be recognized for offering metro, national and global Ethernet services, and offers one of the broadest, deepest and best sets of Ethernet connections available today.


Following the Heavy Reading awards ceremony, MEF President Nan Chen said, "I would like to congratulate Verizon Business for this market-leadership recognition for providing Carrier Ethernet services. The company has a clear commitment to the future of Carrier Ethernet as a technology and service, and sets a clear example for the industry."


Verizon Business provides the following portfolio of Ethernet services:

Ethernet Private Line (EPL) -- within 145 U.S. metro markets and 10 European countries.
Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL) -- within 145 U.S. metro markets and six Asia-Pacific countries and territories, as well as between the United States and six Asia-Pacific regions, and between the United States and 10 European countries.
E-LAN Services -- within 53 metro markets in the United States.
Ethernet Access for Private IP and the Internet -- throughout the United States, within 19 European countries and seven countries within the Asia-Pacific region.
Customers may use Ethernet either as a stand-alone end-to-end service in the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific regions or as a means of quickly and easily accessing either the Internet or Private IP, Verizon Business' global MPLS-based virtual private network (VPN) offering.


Verizon Business is a recognized leader in delivering advanced communications and information technology (IT) services for large-business customers around the world. In April, the company was awarded the 2006 "Highest Customer Satisfaction With Large Enterprise Data Service Providers" by J.D. Power and Associates in its annual study of small, mid-size and large-business customers.


About Verizon Business

Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), is a leading provider of advanced communications and information technology (IT) solutions to large business and government customers worldwide. Combining unsurpassed global network reach with advanced technology and professional service capabilities, Verizon Business delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world. For more information, visit www.verizonbusiness.com



J.D. Power and Associates Disclaimer: Verizon Business received the highest numerical score among data service providers in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Major Provider Business Telecommunications Data Services StudySM. Study is based on 3.138 total responses measuring 6 providers and measures opinions of consumers utilizing telecom services at small/midsize and large enterprise U.S. businesses. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed in January 2006. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com/cc