Verizon Business to Provide California's State and Local Governments With Advanced Communications Services

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - The state of California will be able to tap the power of IP and other advanced services under agreements with Verizon Business. The agreements, for five years with the option of two one-year extensions, cover state and local government entities in California, including state agencies, cities, counties and school districts.

Verizon Business will help these entities migrate to a range of advanced communications services as part of the state's new CALNET II program, the result of a multiyear competitively bid process for telecommunications products and services.

In awarding CALNET II Modules 3 and 4, the California Department of Technology Services selected Verizon Business to provide Internet Protocol (IP) services - including Hosted Voice over IP, Private IP and Managed Services - as well as broadband fixed wireless access.  Through advanced EV-DO and satellite services offerings, state and local government agencies are provided alternatives to traditional wireline services.

"Verizon Business looks forward to expanding our relationship with California and working with the state to bring it advanced technology and services,'' said Alex Coleman, group president for Verizon Business' government and education organization. "By implementing new IP services, we can help state agencies control network costs while helping to improve the customer experience for California residents."

By upgrading networks to IP, the state can help consolidate network management, migrate from traditional time division multiplexer (TDM) technology to voice-over-Internet protocol and provide a competitive environment where agencies can migrate to new technologies.

Verizon Business offers a comprehensive suite of IP-based products to help government agencies and companies benefit from the new capabilities and cost-savings opportunities associated with combining data, voice and video over a single network. Verizon Business offers a full range of VoIP services aimed at giving companies flexibility by leveraging their existing infrastructure, including Hosted IP Centrex, which delivers PBX-like functionality without the need for costly equipment, since it resides in the Verizon Business network.

Verizon Business' fastest-growing service, Private IP, is an ideal platform for advanced voice applications such as VoIP and is a logical transition technology as traditional data customers make the move to an advanced IP network environment.  Using multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) technology -- which is a family of standards for IP networks that provides fast forwarding to pre-allocated paths -- Private IP customers benefit from connectivity between multiple locations.

Verizon Business Private IP customers also benefit from having their critical data safely delivered over a carrier-class global network backed by stringent service level agreements.

Private IP networks offer one-stop-shopping and can be built using existing networking infrastructure while making way for new capabilities. The quality of service (QoS) routing capabilities of MPLS make Private IP ideal for carrying voice, data and video over a single network, since customers can prioritize how bandwidth is used to deliver multiple classes of service.

Verizon Business is one of the largest providers of advanced data, Internet and voice communications services in the United States and around the world. Verizon Business manages more than 3,500 customer networks in 142 countries, overseeing more than 25,000 non-Verizon connections from more than 60 network providers around the world.

Verizon Business offers local-to-global-to-local network capabilities coupled with a broad range of telecommunications products and services, including managed network services and systems integration, to all levels of government. Verizon Business' Government and Education organization offers state and local agencies and institutions of primary and higher education one-stop shopping for their communications or connectivity needs. The company has built the next-generation services that are helping to transform the way state and federal government customers -- and their constituents -- do business. 

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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