Verizon Will Include Linksys ’phone Adapter With 2 Ports’ in Its VoiceWing Broadband Phone Service Installation Kits Starting This November

NEW YORK and IRVINE, Calif., Customers of Verizon’s VoiceWing Broadband Phone Service will enjoy more features and an even faster, simpler service installation starting in November when Verizon begins including a «Phone Adapter with 2 Phone Ports» from Linksys® in VoiceWing installation kits.

The phone adapter is a small piece of equipment that sits on the customer’s desk top and converts analog telephone calls into digital packets that travel over the Internet. It also enables certain calling and call-management features for the VoiceWing service.

«The new phone adapter from Linksys will allow us to provide additional services for our VoiceWing customers in the future and includes technology that will help customers get their service up and running more quickly than ever before,» said Michelle Swittenberg, executive director of consumer and small-business VoIP services for Verizon. «It’s a small, sleek device with two phone ports that will ultimately support our customers’ ability to add another phone line or fax line to their service.»

Charlie Giancarlo, Cisco-Linksys president, said, «Combining Verizon’s VoiceWing Broadband Phone service and our Linksys Phone Adapter provides a complete solution to getting home users up and running with a high quality broadband VoIP phone service. Linksys believes that VoIP will be a leading application with the use of a broadband connection in the home over the next year. Our relationship with Verizon will help to educate the market and drive demand while at the same time offering quality service, support and products that today’s home-user demands.»

Verizon Long Distance introduced VoiceWing Broadband Phone Service in July to provide broadband users nationwide with low-cost flat-rate, unlimited local and domestic long-distance calling services over the Internet. The service works in conjunction with DSL or cable modem broadband connections and includes a wide variety of online call management tools that give customers more flexibility and control over their daily communications. These features include call logs, click-to-dial, enhanced call-forwarding, scheduled call-back, phone-based and online voice mail, personal address book and more.

VoiceWing also offers low international calling rates, 411 directory assistance and a back-up number that directs calls to another phone number in case of a power or broadband outage. The service is portable and gives customers the freedom to use their adapter with any DSL or cable modem broadband connection.

About Linksys

Founded in 1988, Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO — News) is the global leader in Wireless and Ethernet networking for consumer and SOHO users. Linksys is dedicated to making networking easy and affordable for its customers, offering innovative, award-winning products that seamlessly integrate with a variety of devices and applications. Linksys provides 24/7 Grade «A» product support to all its customers. For more information, visit the Linksys web site at www.linksys.com. Linksys is a registered trademark of Cisco Systems, Inc.

About Verizon

A Dow 30 company, Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ — News) is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services, with approximately $68 billion in annual revenues. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world, as measured by directory titles and circulation. Verizon’s international presence includes wireline and wireless communications operations and investments, primarily in the Americas and Europe. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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