Verizon Information Technologies' AAIS Broadband Software Earns SunTone Certification from Sun Microsystems

TAMPA, Fla. - Verizon Information Technologies' AAIS Broadband Version 2.0 software has met a rigorous set of industry standards established under a Sun Microsystems program. By winning certification under the SunTone Certification and Branding Program, the Verizon software has been recognized for its high quality and reliability.

AAIS (Assignment Activation and Inventory System) Broadband is a full-featured, flow-through program that provides telecommunications companies with a completely integrated environment for infrastructure and service order management and provisioning of DSL (digital subscriber line) orders.

The software supports other software and hardware from a multitude of vendors and enables automated provisioning for a wide range of DSL, ATM (asynchronous transfer mode), frame relay and SMDS (Switched Multimegabit Data Service) service request types. To achieve SunTone certification, AAIS Broadband V2.0 passed a thorough review process and met industry-based high standards for excellence in infrastructure, operational practices, hardware, software and overall service delivery.

"This certification demonstrates AAIS Broadband V2.0's ability to meet the rigorous specifications set forth by the SunTone Certification and Branding Program and conveys Verizon's commitment to delivering robust, flexible and quality solutions to business customers," said Michael Luebke, president of Verizon Information Technologies, Inc.

"Our company uses Verizon's product to support the provisioning of ADSL services," said Randy Bayrack, implementation project manager at TELUS, the leading Canadian Internet service provider. "The ADSL business is high growth and is undergoing tremendous change in terms of the network technologies that support the business. The flexibility of AAIS Broadband has enabled us to deal with a constantly evolving network and business environment."

"We recognize Verizon Information Technologies as a leader in the telecommunications software industry," said Stans Kleijnen, vice president of market development and SunTone certification for applications at Sun Microsystems, Inc. "Knowing that AAIS Broadband V2.0 received SunTone certification confirms for customers that Verizon is dedicated to industry-based best practices and guidelines."

The SunTone Certification and Branding program is a collaborative industry effort, led by Sun Microsystems, to define best practices and to audit service provider infrastructure, operational practices, hardware, software and overall service delivery.

Verizon Information Technologies Inc.

Verizon Information Technologies is a wholly owned subsidiary of Verizon Data Services, itself a subsidiary of Verizon Communications, a Fortune 10 communications and technology company with approximately $67 billion in annual revenue. Verizon Data Services has more than 30 years experience in the development of telecommunications software solutions and management of information technology, across a variety of platforms and within a range of industries. By leveraging the skills of more than 14,000 IT professionals, Verizon Information Technologies provides OSS and BSS telecommunications software products, IT outsourcing services, transaction processing, network management, telecommunications software systems, and healthcare payor transaction processing and communications industry software. Verizon Data Services' eight data centers handle millions of transactions daily with industry-leading availability, reliability and security. For additional information, visit http://www.VerizonIT.com.

The SunTone Certification and Branding Program

The SunTone Certification and Branding Program is a collaborative industry effort, led by Sun Microsystems, Inc., to promote 7-by-24 service and reliability as a norm for consumer and business Internet-based services. Under the SunTone program, service providers, independent software vendors and integrators have endured a rigorous review process which examines infrastructure, operational practices, hardware, software, and overall service delivery to help ensure that the services or products provided by a company meet the SunTone program's best practices and high quality standards. Certification under the SunTone program is designed to give customers the confidence that each aspect of the company's operations and infrastructure has been evaluated and judged to be reliable and of high quality based on industry-derived standards. Launched in May 1999, The SunTone program currently has more than 1500 applicants for certification and more than 200 SunTone Certified solutions available to meet a variety of business needs.

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