Verizon Business Continues Strong Growth in Sales of Global Strategic Services

Rolls Out New Capabilities, Enhances Network During Quarter

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - Verizon Business saw continued strong demand during fourth-quarter 2008 for IP-based solutions that enable globally extended enterprises to communicate more effectively and securely.

Sales of strategic services - such as security and IT solutions and a full spectrum of professional and managed IP services that help customers make the most of IP communications, infrastructure, network and technology -- generated $1.5 billion in revenue in the quarter, up 8.4 percent from the fourth quarter 2007. This continued strong acceptance of strategic services shows that multinational corporations and government agencies continue to look for ways to better communicate and collaborate with customers, employees, suppliers and other key stakeholders.

“Our strategic IP-based services are the essential building blocks for the integrated communications and IT solutions that Verizon Business offers worldwide,” said John Killian, president of Verizon Business. “The ongoing strong demand underscores that multinational customers see strong value in services that can help them maintain their competitive edge under any market conditions.”

Capabilities, Reach Expanded During Quarter

Verizon Business introduced new communications, IT, information security and network capabilities during the quarter to further expand its ability to meet customer demands for integrated global solutions.

Verizon Business unveiled several offerings aimed at giving large businesses and government agencies the latest unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) technology while helping to reduce the complexity of managing, monitoring and maintaining these solutions. These offerings included management of the newest capabilities of the Cisco® Unified Communications System Release 7.0, as well as management of the Cisco Unified Contact Center-Express platform, which integrates UC&C functionality into the contact center.

Other communications solutions enhancements included upgrades to Verizon Business’ Private IP-Layer 2 service that enable businesses using traditional data services such as frame relay and ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) to more easily make the move to Internet protocol. Verizon Business also announced enhancements to its leading global VoIP portfolio, including a new Verizon VoIP Interoperability Lab where customers can test-drive the compatibility of their premises equipment with Verizon’s VoIP or IP Contact Center products as well as check availability in Europe of automatic call rerouting for VoIP customers. Additionally, the company responded to growing demand for greater Carrier Ethernet bandwidth by standardizing a 10 gigabit Ethernet (10 GigE) offering for its Metro Ethernet service in the U.S.

Verizon Business rolled out in the U.S. and Europe a new IT services offering that enables customers of the company’s Managed Hosting service to quickly, securely and easily change online content via an easy-to-use, intuitive Web interface. The company also announced an expansion of its Managed WAN Optimization Services, which enable companies to more quickly and efficiently provide essential applications - such as e-mail, instant messaging and file transfers - to employees based in the U.S. and around the world.

The company also further extended its innovative leadership in the global security solutions market. Following up its groundbreaking 2008 Verizon Business Data Breach Investigations Report released in June (http://www.verizonbusiness.com/resources/security/databreachreport.pdf), Verizon Business issued supplemental research. It showed that enterprises should assess their security strategies knowing that the challenges differ significantly by industry and that a one-size-fits-all approach is rarely effective. In the supplemental analysis (http://www.verizobnbusiness.com/resources/security/databreachsuppwp.pdf), Verizon Business security experts used the original data to provide a rare glimpse at the differences and similarities among attacks across four key industries: financial services, high tech, retail and food and beverage.

Network Leadership and Global Expansion

Verizon Business continued during the quarter to enhance its global IP network, which serves as the critical platform for the company’s secure communications and IT solutions, and expand its reach into high-growth, global markets.

Enhancements announced during the quarter include:

* Installing 26 new Private IP (PIP) edge switches, including new nodes in Morocco and Pakistan. The company now has edge switches deployed in 59 countries and supports PIP services in more than 120 countries.

* Installing eight Converged Packet Access nodes for a total of 113 nodes in 87 major markets across 27 countries.

* Further expanding the company’s mesh network in Asia-Pacific and North America, including the deployment of nodes in Singapore, Toronto, Montreal and several U.S. cities.

* Deploying multiplexers in an additional seven U.S. markets, for a total of 25 markets. This technology enables remote provisioning and trouble isolation while reducing latency (the time it takes for data sent from its entry point in the network to reach its destination).

Verizon Business Industry Recognition

Industry experts continued to recognize the depth and breadth of Verizon Business’ global capabilities during the quarter. This recognition included:

* Gartner Inc. rated Verizon Business “Positive” in its 2008 report, “MarketScope for Remote Support Services (Global).”¹

* Forrester Research recognized Verizon Business as a leading U.S. provider of managed multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) services in its October 2008 report, “The Forrester Wave(tm): Domestic North American Managed MPLS Services, Q4 2008.”

* IDC rated Verizon Business a “Leader” in its inaugural report, “IDC MarketScape: U.S. Enterprise Telecommunications 2008 Vendor Analysis, Doc # 214572, October 2008,” based on the strength of’ the company’s voice and data portfolio and forward-looking strategy.

* The Metro Ethernet Forum awarded Verizon Business its 2008 Best in Business European Carrier Ethernet Service Provider of the Year Award on the strength of the company’s industry leadership, innovation and creativity in the development and implementation of carrier Ethernet solutions.

* Telephony Magazine named the Verizon Enterprise Center (VEC), the company’s online site for enterprise customers around the world, as the most innovative enterprise service of 2008.

* Earning certification as ISO/IEC 20000-compliant for Verizon Business’ Government Network Operations and Security Center (GNOSC), located in Ashburn, Va. The company is the first telecommunications company in the U.S. to receive this prestigious certification.

New Business Momentum Continues

Verizon Business continued to both solidify and expand its relationships with existing large businesses and government agencies around the world while adding new business. The company completed agreements during the quarter with multinational corporations, major regional players and government agencies for a wide range of advanced communications and information technology solutions.

Specific customer applications include:

* Bank of Oklahoma, N.A. has selected Verizon Business to provide Private IP - the company’s fastest-growing service - as well as Internet and voice services. Bank of Oklahoma is a subsidiary of BOK Financial Corp., a regional financial services company that provides commercial and consumer banking, investment and trust services, mortgage origination and servicing, and an electronic funds transfer network.

* Ingenico, the leading player in the secure electronic payments industry by market share, has chosen Verizon Business as its global communications supplier to support its international expansion and business goals. Verizon Business will provide professional security services to support the international deployment of new banking-transaction solutions, as well as providing Ingenico with the expertise to enable these new solutions to meet the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS) for the protection of confidential data. In addition, Verizon Private IP and Ethernet Private Line services will underpin Ingenico’s secured connectivity for transaction services.

* Johnson Controls, a global leader in automotive experience, building efficiency and power solutions, has extended its Private IP service in China and Japan. This is an amendment to a five-year agreement under which Verizon Business provides Johnson Controls with a wide range of Internet protocol-based communications services.

* Nikon Corporation, global leader in digital imaging, precision optics and photo imaging technology, recently appointed Verizon Business to study its network security features and provide managed services to improve network utilization. Nikon has also been utilizing Verizon Business’ MPLS network to link its various offices in Japan, North America and Europe since 2007.

* The NSG Group, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of glass and glazing products, has selected Verizon Business as its global communications supplier. A fully managed Verizon Private IP network will be used to connect the company’s offices in Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America and support the Group’s global business as it deploys and serves new applications.

* Verizon Business continued to win government business, including signing business under the U.S. General Service Administration’s Networx program, with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

About Verizon Business
Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), is a global leader in communications and IT solutions. We combine professional expertise with the world’s most connected IP network to deliver award-winning communications, IT, information security and network solutions. We securely connect today’s extended enterprises of widespread and mobile customers, partners, suppliers and employees - enabling them to increase productivity and efficiency and help preserve the environment. Many of the world’s largest businesses and governments - including 96 percent of the Fortune 1000 and thousands of government agencies and educational institutions - rely on our professional and managed services and network technologies to accelerate their business. Find out more at www.verizonbusiness.com.

About the MarketScope
The MarketScope is copyrighted 17 October 2008 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The MarketScope is an evaluation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner’s analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the MarketScope, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest rating. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

¹ Gartner “MarketScope for Remote Support Services (Global)” by Richard T. Matlus, William Maurer, Frank Ridder, Gianluca Tramacere, Claudio Da Rold, Eric Goodness, Jim Longwood. October 17, 2008