LONDON, May 6 /PRNewswire/ --

- Company's Participation in EIG Enhances Leading Global Network
Capabilities

Verizon Business Tuesday (May 6) joined a consortium of 16 companies
building a next-generation undersea optical cable system connecting Europe,
the Middle East and India.

The new system, named the Europe India Gateway (EIG), is the third major
submarine cable project Verizon Business has helped launch in the last four
years and continues the company's global network leadership in delivering
more capacity, reliability and speed for the data, video and voice services
of its multinational customers.

The 15,000-kilometer (9,000-mile) cable network system, expected to be
completed in 2010, will connect three continents at a cost of more than $700
million (U.S.). It will have a design capacity of up to 3.84 terabits per
second (Tbps).

"This new cable system will provide not only a second, diverse route from
India to Europe, but also direct access to our network in Europe," said Ihab
Tarazi, Verizon Business vice president of global network planning. "Combined
with our other network capabilities, we will offer our customers reduced
latency (the time it takes data sent from its entry point in the network to
reach its destination), reduced provisioning time and increased reliability."

Verizon Business is a leader in developing undersea cable systems. The
company is the only U.S.-based founding member of the Trans-Pacific Express
Cable, which will provide the first high-speed direct link between the U.S.
and mainland China when activated in July. Verizon Business also is the only
founding U.S. partner in an existing Southeast Asia-to-Europe (via the Indian
subcontinent) submarine cable called SEA-ME-WE-4 (Southeast Asia-Middle
East-Western Europe-4).

The EIG will give Verizon Business customers a second, diverse landing in
France. As with SEA-ME-WE-4, Verizon Business will operate a landing station
in Marseilles that will connect directly with the company's recently expanded
ultra-long-haul network in Europe.

With the addition of the EIG, Verizon Business also plans to extend its
industry-leading global mesh architecture to the Middle East and India.
Meshing is network design that connects undersea cable systems on land,
allowing for instantaneous rerouting of traffic in the event of multiple
undersea cable breaks. Currently, the company operates a seven-way diverse
mesh network between the U.S. and Europe and five-way diversity between the
U.S. and Japan, with expansion to seven-way diversity to Hong Kong, South
Korea and Taiwan planned for the second half of 2008.

Verizon Business continues to expand its partnerships and presence in the
Middle East and India. Verizon Business earlier this year received licenses
for international and national long-distance services in India and will offer
a full range of services including international private-leased circuits with
multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) and Internet protocol (IP) services. The
company already holds an Internet service provider license in India.

"As the world's leading companies grow their presence in emerging market
regions, they know they can rely on our leading global network to support
their critical business applications," said Tarazi. "Wherever they do
business in the world, our customers know they can count on us to use our
outstanding network capabilities to deliver business solutions."

Verizon Business owns and operates a global fiber-optic network that
spans six continents and has more than 485,000 route miles delivering
services to customers in more than 150 countries and 2,700 cities throughout
the world. The company is involved in more than 67 submarine cables
worldwide.

About Verizon Business

Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), is a
global IP leader and network-based partner for delivering integrated
communications and information technology (IT) solutions to large-business
and government customers worldwide. Combining unsurpassed reach with managed
services, security, mobility, collaboration and professional services
capabilities, Verizon Business delivers global solutions that power
innovation and enable its customers to do business better. For more
information, visit www.verizonbusiness.com.

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