VZ: Verizon Business Is Recognized by Frost & Sullivan as a Leader in VoIP and Conferencing Services

Verizon Business has been recognized by Frost & Sullivan, a leading industry analyst firm, as an IP leader delivering some of the most innovative voice- over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) services and capturing the leading market share among Web conferencing reseller service providers.

Frost & Sullivan has selected Verizon Business to receive the 2006 North American Enterprise VoIP Services Customer Value Enhancement Award. In addition, the firm recently published a report naming Verizon Business as the leading Web conferencing reseller services provider.

"Verizon Business continues to deliver compelling IP-based solutions for the enterprise market," said Lynda Starr, senior analyst, IP communications, for Frost & Sullivan's information and communication technology services. "This sort of focus is essential for service providers to effectively compete by addressing the IP transformation under way today. Businesses benefit from working with a provider that can translate the new capabilities afforded by IP into applications that will enhance business' day-to-day operations and productivity."

Tom Roche, vice president of marketing for Verizon Business' network voice and data services, said: "This recognition by Frost & Sullivan reinforces our IP leadership in delivering next-generation services for large-business and government customers. "We've been a pioneer developing and delivering one of the industry's most comprehensive VoIP portfolios, and, as the leading Web conferencing reseller service provider, we continue to help our customers collaborate more effectively and enhance productivity."

VoIP Customer Value Enhancement Award

The Frost & Sullivan award recognizes Verizon Business' ability to effectively integrate its products and services following the Verizon-MCI merger.

"Verizon continues to show its commitment to the market through product innovation, improved sales and customer processes, and its global IP network,'' Frost & Sullivan stated. "While some merged companies may slow new product rollouts just prior to and immediately following the close of a merger, this is not the case with Verizon, which continues moving ahead with what its customers need.''

Frost & Sullivan said service providers competing for the award for the enterprise VoIP market were judged on their ability to expand their existing customer base by adding new, innovative offerings and how they have positioned their services to create satisfaction among a diverse potential customer base.

Web Conferencing Market Leadership

Frost & Sullivan, in its "World Web Conferencing Markets" study (#F764-64), published in October, named Verizon Conferencing as the leading Web conferencing reseller services provider.

Earlier this year, Verizon Business sponsored a Frost & Sullivan study, "Meetings Around the World: The Impact of Collaboration on Business Performance," that determined that collaboration is a key driver of business performance. The study -- which defined collaboration as an interaction between culture and technology such as audio and net conferencing, e-mail and instant messaging -- also found that professionals around the world see their collaborative efforts as highly productive and believe that collaboration through communications technologies can provide a competitive advantage. Full details of the report can be found at http://newscenter.verizon.com/kit/collaboration/

Verizon Business is an industry innovator in providing advanced products and services for today's rapidly changing business environment.

Verizon Business' global portfolio of VoIP services includes IP Integrated Access, IP Trunking, Hosted IP Centrex and Managed IP PBX. In addition, Verizon Business offers IP Flexible T1 in the United States. These services leverage a robust, flexible platform that provides a high-quality voice experience, vast international footprint and rich feature set, all of which afford customers a smooth transition to VoIP at their own path and pace with great flexibility. It also allows customers to use their existing infrastructure, allowing them to mix and match solutions, whether network or premises-based.

Verizon Business, through its expansive global network, is a leading provider of conferencing and collaboration services worldwide, enabling organizations to conveniently and effectively collaborate, virtually anytime, anywhere, and helping them improve response time and productivity, without the costs associated with business travel. Verizon Business is a pioneer in the conferencing business, with more than 20 years' experience delivering conferencing services. Verizon Business today handles millions of meetings a month, offering the convenience of one-stop shopping and a wide range of global customized products and services, including audio, video and net conference services, IP-based services and some of the most advanced meeting tools available