Verizon to launch expanded business network services

After 17 months of work, Verizon Communications Wednesday announced that its expanded national broadband network will go into operation later this month to bring improved data and voice networking services to large business, education and government customers.

The network, which was originally unveiled in November 2002, is part of the New York-based company's Enterprise Advance national broadband network growth initiative. The program aims to provide a broader range of communications services to customers, including network management, data storage across high-speed links, business recovery, security, remote access, and voice and data networking.

The expanded network features an IP backbone that connects and extends Verizon's metropolitan and regional networks, which include about 9.7 million fiber miles in major metropolitan areas around the U.S. The new backbone uses Multiprotocol Label Switching technology to create a versatile network that enables customers to use their existing communications systems to get new services without having to buy new equipment. The new backbone also supports convergence -- the transport of a customer's voice, video and data applications over a common network infrastructure.

"The completion of the broadband network transforms Verizon into a full-service, national provider of communications services to large public and private-sector enterprises," Eduardo R. Menasce, president of Verizon Enterprise Solutions Group, said in a statement. "The IP backbone leverages the ubiquity of Verizon's local networks and extensive portfolio of metropolitan access technologies and enables the company to offer enterprise customers new advanced data services nationwide."

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