Verizon Business Ready to Invest in International, Triple VoIP Capacity

By Paula Bernier

Verizon Communications Inc.s enterprise business group, which was renamed Verizon Business following the acquisition and integration of MCIs business group, is committed to international like never before and plans to make an investment announcement on the international front within the next week or two, said Wayne Huyard, executive vice president of global sales and services at Verizon Business.

Huyard spoke during a press conference today, during which Verizon Business unveiled new wireless services, offered an update on the integration of MCI and Verizon, discussed a new ad campaign that will launch tonight and said it now is officially open for business.

Of course, Verizons acquisition of MCI greatly expanded its presence in the business market and its ability to address the needs of large enterprise and government customers. Verizon Business which serves 94 percent of the Fortune 500 largest companies is focused on those large customers, who spend at least $250,000 in telecommunications a year. Other business customers will be served by Verizons business services group.

The new Verizon Business Enterprise Mobility technologies, based on the former MCI’s remote access suite, offer secure connections over Verizons EV-DO network to remote workers. The company also is offering wireless broadband for business continuity.

On the integration front, work is well underway to integrate the network backbones of Verizon and the former MCI, said Fred Briggs, executive vice president of network operations and technology at Verizon Business, who came from the MCI side. He said 15 percent of the traffic from Verizons backbone has been moved to the MCI IP-based backbone to date, and the move will be complete by the end of this year. Meanwhile, he added, the company expects to triple its VoIP capacity this year.

But the company is downplaying its technological side in favor of a customer-focused message, said John Killian, president of Verizon Business. In a TV ad campaign that will launch tonight, Verizon Business will emphasize its high-tech, human-touch approach to business service delivery.

“Our unique branch sales office structure places Verizon Business account teams closer to our customers'” said Killian. “Similarly, the Verizon Business Customer Center portal puts online service and account management tools at our customer’s fingertips. From at-your-side support to online self-service and all points in between, our objective is to deliver an unmatched customer experience, geared to a customer’s personal preferences. This will be a major element of the Verizon Business difference.”

Verizon Business www.verizonbusiness.com
Verizon Communications Inc. www.verizon.com