Verizon Business Recognized For Outstanding VoIP Innovation

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - A new on-demand networking capability that enables Verizon Business IP Trunking customers to improve the efficiency of their voice-over-IP (VoIP) networks has been recognized by Technology Marketing Corporation's (TMC) publication INTERNET TELEPHONY as a 2008 TMC Labs Innovation Award winner.

The Verizon Burstable Enterprise Shared Trunks (BEST) capability enables IP Trunking customers in the U.S. to use idle VoIP trunk capacity in one location to accommodate an increase in traffic from another location.  The BEST feature helps customers better manage their local and long-distance traffic by sharing capacity on demand.  This offering, introduced in December 2007, is currently available in 350 U.S. metropolitan markets to customers with select IP Trunking plans. 

"IP Trunking with BEST is one of the hottest products being requested by our customers undergoing an IP transformation," said Nancy Gofus, Verizon Business senior vice president and chief marketing officer.  "Companies that have initiated VoIP are quickly recognizing the value of replacing their traditional telephony with the efficient and cost-effective communications management capabilities that BEST has to offer."

Verizon IP Trunking, a service that connects switching systems, uses Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signaling and an IP private branch exchange to translate VoIP to time division multiplexing (TDM) and TDM to VoIP calls.  This flexibility allows customers to harness the power of VoIP by easily replacing traditional TDM trunk lines provided through the public-switched telephone network.

"Verizon has demonstrated to the staff of TMC Labs that BEST for IP Trunking is indeed truly innovative in the IP communications industry," said TMC President Rich Tehrani.   "BEST for IP Trunking has made contributions which have resulted in significant advancement to the industry."

Tom Keating, chief technology officer and editorial director of TMC Labs, added, "The Innovation Awards exemplify the best and the most unique products and services that this industry has to offer.  Verizon Business has proven its commitment to quality and the further development of the IP communications industry through its BEST for IP Trunking.  I look forward to seeing more innovative solutions from Verizon Business as it continues to contribute to the future of IP communications."

The TMC Labs Innovation Awards honor products that display innovation, unique features, and significant contributions toward improving communications technology.  The TMC Labs Innovation Awards are granted not necessarily to the best-selling products, but instead to those demonstrating ground-breaking contributions to the industry.

The INTERNET TELEPHONY TMC Labs 2008 Innovation Award highlights will be published in the July and August issues of INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine.

Verizon Business offers an extensive VoIP portfolio comprised of IP Flexible T1 (available only in the U.S), IP Integrated Access, IP Trunking, Hosted IP Centrex and Managed IP PBX.  These services enable high-quality voice communications in a converged network environment, leveraging Verizon Business' vast national and international footprint and a wide range of innovative features.   Multinational companies can take advantage of Verizon VoIP services in the U.S., France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom, with further expansion planned over the next two months to Italy, Spain, Sweden and Ireland.

Verizon Business is a leader in developing and delivering IP solutions that help large businesses and government agencies transition to VoIP on their own path and pace.  By offering new and advanced capabilities such as BEST, Verizon Business can help customers more simply adopt VoIP while making their IP networks work harder and smarter to meet their business objectives.

About TMC
Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) is an integrated global media company helping our clients build communities in print, in-person and online.  TMC publishes Customer Interaction Solutions, INTERNET TELEPHONY, Unified Communications, and IMS Magazine. TMC is also the first publisher to test new products in its own on-site laboratories, TMC Labs.  TMCnet, TMC's Web site, is the leading source of news and articles for the communications and technology industries. TMCnet is read by nearly one million US visitors according to Quantcast and by over three million unique visitors each month worldwide, according to Webtrends   In addition, TMC produces INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO, Call Center 2.0 Conference and Communications Developer Conference.

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For more information about TMC, visit www.tmcnet.com.

About INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine
INTERNET TELEPHONY has been the IP Communications Authority since 1998(tm). Beginning with the first issue in February of 1998, INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine has been providing unbiased views of the complicated converged communications space.  INTERNET TELEPHONY offers rich content from solutions-focused editorial content to reviews on products and services from TMC Labs.  INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine reaches more than 225,000 readers, including pass-along readers.  For more information, please visit www.itmag.com.

About Verizon Business
Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), operates the world's most connected public IP network and uses its industry-leading global-network capabilities to offer large-business and government customers an unmatched combination of security, reliability and speed. The company integrates advanced IP communications and information technology (IT) products and services to deliver leading enterprise solutions including managed services, security, mobility, collaboration and professional services. These solutions power innovation and enable the company's customers to do business better. For more information, visit www.verizonbusiness.com.

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