Verizon Business Expands Global IP Network Reach in African Countries by Teaming With Gateway Business Africa

Multinational corporations can take advantage of a new network alliance Verizon has formed with Gateway Business Africa that will expand Verizon Business Private IP network capabilities in several African countries.

The agreement allows Verizon Business to leverage Gateway Business' network presence and extend coverage of the Verizon multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) network to an additional 14 pan-African countries by using interconnection points between the companies' networks.  The MPLS network gives customers a scalable and flexible cross-continent IP business communications platform for continued growth and global reach.

Verizon Business customers now can access Private IP network capabilities in Tanzania and Kenya in Africa's eastern region; Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Cameroon on the western coast; and Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa in the central and southern regions.  Other countries to be added to the Private-IP Gateway interconnection arrangement are Uganda, Lesotho, Angola and Zambia.

"Verizon is a leader in developing and delivering global IP network solutions worldwide, and this new agreement continues to meet our customers' growing requirements for IP as the global business platform of choice," said Ihab Tarazi, vice president of Verizon's global network planning.  "Our network alliance and the MPLS interconnect enable full traffic integration of Verizon Business' global Private IP network with Gateway Business' network in this important emerging market.  As a result, our multinational customers can rely on a single secure global network foundation for their business operations around the world."

Verizon Private IP customers benefit from six classes of service (CoS), and latency-sensitive applications, such as VoIP and video, receive priority over applications such as e-mail. The ability to prioritize applications, combined with advanced reporting tools for network and application performance to the desktop and user level, make Private IP an ideal global platform for business communications and day-to-day operations.

"As the leading pan-African telecommunications provider, we look forward to helping Verizon Business expand its MPLS network coverage to meet their customers' needs in this growing region," said Wally Beelders, CEO of Gateway Business, a Vodacom Group. "We take pride in our commitment to provide outstanding network connectivity using a unique mix of submarine and terrestrial cables and satellite connections."

Verizon Business delivers a comprehensive portfolio of managed network services, managing 300,000-plus security, network and hosting devices across more than 4,200 customer networks spanning 142 countries and territories, all backed by industry-leading service-level agreements.  The company's global infrastructure, one of the most connected IP networks in the world, provides a solid foundation from which to serve multinational corporations and government agencies.

About Gateway Business
Gateway Business is the leading provider of pan-African corporate connectivity and telecommunications. Gateway Business has customers in 42 sub Saharan countries and works in partnership with Africa's largest businesses and many of the world's principal corporations, helping them stay connected across Africa and into the rest of the world.

With large scale investment in Africa, including new network build and data-centres in southern east and west Africa, Gateway Business provide managed network services and hosted solutions across all sub-Saharan Africa.  Gateway Business has 350 local experts on the ground in Africa who are specialists in Oil & Gas, Banking, Mining and Logistics & Distribution, supporting a customer base of over 2,000 corporations.

Gateway Business is wholly owned by Vodacom Group Limited, which is listed on the JSE Limited under the symbol VOD.  To find out more, please visit www.gatewaycomms.com

About Verizon Business
Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ), is a global leader in communications and IT solutions. We combine professional expertise with one of the world's most connected IP networks 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

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