Verizon Business Announces the Availability of Its VoIP Portfolio for the Australian Market


Offering Expands to Six Australian Cities as Global Rollout Continues

READING, England and SYDNEY, Australia, April 18 -- Verizon Business has expanded availability of its VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) portfolio to the Australian market, offering Verizon IP Integrated Access and Verizon Hosted IP Centrex to customers in six Australian cities. Verizon Business customers in Australia can now benefit from the advanced functionality offered by Verizon VoIP, as well as realise cost efficiencies from transitioning their voice and data services to a single IP platform.

The Verizon VoIP portfolio integrates network and customer premises equipment (CPE) into a single platform, offering businesses a simple, efficient way to transition their voice and data services to IP technology at their own pace and irrespective of their stage of IP implementation. The ability to simply transition voice and data communications onto a converged IP platform is key for organisations wishing to implement next-generation communications to meet their business objectives.

Verizon Business' global footprint and extensive voice network coverage enable the company to offer one of the most extensive VoIP portfolios available. IP Integrated Access consolidates voice and data traffic over a single IP network whilst keeping the traditional PBX (private branch exchange) in place. Hosted IP Centrex is a robust, scalable and feature-rich VoIP service delivered from a hosted platform. This is particularly beneficial for customers who are moving to or establishing a new location or replacing an outdated PBX or key system. Verizon VoIP is fully supported by industry- leading service-level agreements.

John Irvine, vice president of international marketing for Verizon Business, commented: "Our industry-leading VoIP portfolio addresses our customers' need to move to a converged communications environment on a global basis, but at their own pace and in line with their own business objectives. In this converged IP environment, VoIP can work in harmony with other IP-based tools such as conferencing and Instant Messaging to enhance business collaboration and performance. Bringing IP Integrated Access and Hosted IP Centrex to the Australian market will help our Australian customers to transition to this IP world."

Andrew Dobbins, vice president of sales and service for Asia-Pacific, Verizon Business, commented: "This announcement is testament to our ongoing commitment to extending availability of our products and services to our multinational customers' key business locations. We're delighted to continue to expand our global VoIP portfolio availability into the APAC region, and look forward to further extending its reach into this dynamic market in the coming months."

Mayur Sahni, Analyst at Current Analysis, said: "Verizon Business' launch of its VoIP services in Australia is a positive move, as this will strengthen the company's product portfolio and competitive position in the market. In addition, with Verizon Managed IP PBX and Verizon IP Trunking in the pipeline, and expansion plans from six to 12 cities in the near future, Verizon Business is well placed as a long-term ICT partner."

VoIP Portfolio Geographic Availability

Verizon VoIP is now available in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney in Australia, as well as in the U.K., Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, South Africa, Canada and the United States. Local language (Dutch, French, German and British English in addition to U.S. English) customer Web interfaces and local ringtones are now available in these countries, providing a fully localized IP telephony end-user experience.

Site-to-site VoIP capabilities are also available in an additional 11 European countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland).

The company plans to expand to six additional Australian cities (Geelong, the Gold Coast, Newcastle, Penrith, Townsville and Wollongong) in mid 2007, followed by the Australian rollout of Verizon Managed IP PBX and Verizon IP Trunking. In addition, Verizon Hosted IP Centrex is also planned for Hong Kong later in 2007.

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.

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CONTACT: Jo Perrin of Verizon Business, +44 (0) 770 252 5868, or jo.perrin@verizonbusiness.com

Web site: www.verizon.com/
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