MCI quietly becomes Verizon

No Australian jobs will be lost and the product lineup will remain unchanged as the local arm of international telco MCI quietly transforms into a business-focused division of acquirer Verizon, according to a spokesperson for the new operation.

That transformation -- under the "Verizon Business" name -- is taking place locally after Verizon closed its US$8.44 billion acquisition of MCI back on 6 January this year.

The buyout gave Verizon an international long-distance network and a number of large corporate customers. But it had limited ramifications in Australia.

"It'll be more or less business as usual," an Asia-Pacific spokesperson for the new Verizon Business division told ZDNet Australia yesterday.

"The sales and services organisation across the Asia-Pacific -- including Australia and New Zealand -- remains unchanged."

"Our product strategy ... is basically not going to change at all."

The spokesperson said Verizon was reaching out to its international customers to inform them of the new brand and to claim that the transformation "won't alter the performance or quality of the services we provide".

Like some of Verizon's global competitors (for example British Telecom and AT&T), the new division plans to invest in its international network.

"Two of the benefits of this, especially for Australia, will include the launch of Voice over IP in the corporate retail environment, and continued investment into expansion of the MPLS network," the spokesperson said.

Yesterday, ex-MCI staff were answering the phones in the company's Sydney office as "Verizon Business", and the company's local Web site had been transitioned.

Advertisement

Talkback 0 comments

Latest Videos

Sponsored content

Power Centre - Content from our premier sponsors

Blogs

  • David Braue Can not-so-smart meters help the NBN?
    It was interesting to witness Conroy's recent enthusiasm to spruik the NBN's role in supporting the Smart Grid, Smart City initiative. What a pity that Conroy hadn't yet seen the damning report from the Victorian auditor-general about that state's smart-meter roll-out.
  • Array Can the Telco Reform Act be win-win?
    In the second of our two programs looking at the Senate Inquiry into the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment Bill, we hear from shareholders, bureaucrats and industry groups.
  • Array Has New Zealand's smiling assassin delivered?
    One year into its tenure, how has the new New Zealand Government performed on issues of technology and telecommunications?
  • More blogs »

Tags

Back to top

Featured