READING, England, March 20 /PRNewswire/ --

- Verizon Private IP Enables Faster, More Secure Transport of Business-Critical Applications and Advanced Communications

Verizon Business has been selected by Teva UK Limited, the U.K. arm of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, one of the world's largest generic pharmaceutical businesses, to provide Verizon Private IP and Verizon IP Dedicated Service.

Verizon Business multi-protocol label switching (MPLS)-based technology will unite six sites within the Teva group across Britain and Ireland. This single network will enable Teva to centralise network management and roll out consistent business-critical applications and advanced communication tools across its entire infrastructure.

Teva's U.K.-based sites are located in Aylesbury, Eastbourne, Leeds, London and Runcorn, and the company also has a site in Waterford, Ireland. These were previously connected by various separate infrastructures.

By converging voice and data onto one centrally managed network, Teva will be able to improve network performance while reducing management, maintenance and operating costs. This move will also provide the company with a more flexible communications infrastructure by increasing bandwidth and data access speeds across the U.K. This will enable Teva to utilise universal business-critical applications, such as an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system hosted out of its Israeli headquarters, as well as videoconferencing and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), in the future.

Peter Horsman, finance and IT director, Teva UK Limited, explained: "Verizon Business demonstrated a clear understanding of our business and was able to meet our pricing criteria. Our new network is future-proof and will be able to support the growth of our U.K. business. The ability to run converged voice and data applications across the new network will genuinely change the way our sites in the U.K. and Ireland communicate and work with each other."

John Irvine, vice president of international marketing, Verizon Business, said: "Teva has an extremely strong presence in Europe and is successfully growing its business. By consolidating the existing networks into one strong infrastructure, Teva will benefit from maximum business efficiencies now and the ability to grow in the future."

About Teva UK Limited

Teva UK Limited is one of the U.K.'s leading pharmaceutical manufacturers, with a presence in the generics, branded respiratory and hospitals markets. With over 500 product lines, it has the widest range of any U.K. generic pharmaceutical company and has a number of innovative respiratory products including the Qvar(R) (beclometasone dipropionate) CFC-free inhaler.

About Verizon Business

Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), is a leading provider of advanced communications and information technology (IT) solutions to large business and government customers worldwide. Combining unsurpassed global network reach with advanced technology and professional service capabilities, Verizon Business delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world. For more information, visit www.verizonbusiness.com.

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Clare Ward of Verizon Business, +44-0-118-905-3501, clare.ward@verizonbusiness.com