Verizon Business Receives Top Honors from Frost & Sullivan for Global Network Services

Basking Ridge, New Jersey (ots/PRNewswire) -

- New Strategic Products, Balanced Global Portfolio Earn 2006
Frost & Sullivan Product Line Strategy Award for Enterprise WAN
Services

A leading global growth consulting company has named Verizon
Business tops for global network services to large-business and
government customers.

Verizon Business is the 2006 recipient of Frost & Sullivan's
Product Line Strategy Award for Enterprise wide area networking (WAN)
services. Verizon Business was recognized for its ability to
introduce new wide-area networking products that are strategically
positioned to balance its already robust overall product line.

The Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Line Strategy is presented
each year to a company that has demonstrated the most insight into
customer needs and product demands.

"This award further validates our strategy of delivering a global
suite of WAN services with a consistent look and feel," said Nancy
Gofus, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Verizon
Business. "Our product set underpins the next-generation services our
customers require to do business better around the world. As a global
networking and IT leader, we will continue to invest in and lay the
right foundation for large businesses and government agencies to
communicate and operate reliably and seamlessly around the globe."

Rolling out new and enhanced service offerings continues to be a
key priority for Verizon Business. In a separate announcement
Wednesday (March 21), the company unveiled global enhancements to its
fast-growing Private IP service that include extended in-country
reach, improved service level agreements, a sixth class of service
and enhanced reporting features.

Frost & Sullivan specifically highlighted Verizon Business'
November 2006 expansion of its Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL)
International service from the United States to six countries and
territories in the Asia-Pacific region as a key enhancement to the
company's existing Enterprise WAN portfolio. That expansion enables
U.S. and multinational companies with locations in Australia, Hong
Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan to have access to Verizon
Business EVPL International as a standard service and also may enable
such companies to connect within their respective regions, Frost &
Sullivan noted.

"Since its purchase of MCI, Verizon has been aggressively
expanding its reach and service portfolio on a global basis," said
Maria Zeppetella, research analyst with Frost & Sullivan. "The
expansion of Verizon Business' EVPL International service enhances
its already strong Ethernet portfolio."

In addition to the EVPL expansion, Frost & Sullivan also noted
Verizon Business' plans to introduce Ethernet Virtual Private LAN
Service in the United States -- which was announced March 12 -- and
the company's plans to expand that service to other countries in 2008
as support for its winning product-line strategy to increase the
variety and depth of services available to multinational
corporations. Frost & Sullivan also noted that Verizon Business plans
to extend its reach via additional fiber deployment and extending
transmission service to more buildings where fiber has already been
deployed, and is open to exploring WiMax as another access option.

Frost & Sullivan noted that Verizon Business' recent product
rollouts are strategically positioned to balance the company's Global
Enterprise WAN solutions product line. That portfolio currently
includes: Ethernet Private Line, Ethernet Virtual Private Line,
Ethernet Access for Private IP and the Internet, and Ethernet Virtual
Private LAN Service; Private IP and IP VPN Dedicated; Frame Relay;
ATM; and Global Private Line Service.

The total Global Enterprise WAN Services market is expected to
grow at a compound annual rate of 10.8 percent through 2013, with
market revenues expected to reach US$40.6 billion by 2013, the report
said.

According to Frost & Sullivan, market drivers in the enterprise
WAN services market are dominated by globalization and the expansion
of multinational corporations, which require communications that are
immediate and real-time. This includes both enterprises that are just
starting to expand to other regions as well as already established
multinationals that are continuing to expand into additional regions.
In both cases, the report noted, global WAN connectivity is key for
communications between headquarters and branch offices, as well as
manufacturing facilities.

Steady migration from legacy services to newer technologies will
continue as enterprises seek more bandwidth, convergence, better
management and increasing value-added services for their enterprise
WAN expenditures, the report said.

About The Frost & Sullivan Product Line Strategy Award

The Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Line Strategy is presented
each year to a company that has demonstrated the most insight into
customer needs and product demands. The recipient company should have
optimized its product line by leveraging products with the various
price, performance, and feature points required by the market.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been
partnering with clients to support the development of innovative
strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise
integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services and
corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities.
Frost & Sullivan serves and extensive clientele that includes Global
1000 companies, emerging companies and the investment community by
providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects the unique
global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets,
technologies, econometrics and demographics. For more information,
visit www.awards.frost.com.

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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Web site: http://www.verizon.com
http://www.awards.frost.com
http://www.verizon.com/news

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Contact:
Peter Lucht of Verizon Business, +1-617-743-2224, or
peter.lucht@verizon.com /Company News On-Call:
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