NEW YORK- December 13, 2011 - To meet the growing traffic demand created by video, mobile and cloud services, Verizon will upgrade its IP network infrastructure in selected U.S. markets, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York and Seattle.

Verizon will extend its next-generation 100G capabilities by deploying Cisco's CRS-3 Carrier Routing System platform to terminate high-speed connections closer to the "edge" – the part of the network nearer to the customer's network facilities. This advanced platform, which will be deployed in the first half of 2012, will enable the network to seamlessly accommodate growth where traffic demand is the greatest.

"We're constantly seeking to improve the Verizon IP network to support traffic growth, improve performance and increase functionality," said Ihab Tarazi, vice president of global IP and transport planning and technology for Verizon. "Upgrading the network using Cisco's CRS-3 platform provides better scale and expanded capabilities that support traffic growth areas such as broadband access and content delivery."

Verizon will deploy the CRS-3 platform to provide 100G edge access to the IP network and upgrade its FiOS core network. Verizon has relied on Cisco's CRS-1 platform in the network for more than four years, allowing the company to easily transition to the CRS-3 platform, thereby simplifying network operations while enabling comprehensive system redundancy and network resiliency.

 "Cisco's CRS and ASR technologies were designed for trail-blazing service providers, such as Verizon, that are looking to create and deploy the next generation of great services and applications." said Surya Panditi, senior vice president and general manager, core technology group for Cisco. "These routing platforms will seamlessly accommodate the extraordinary future growth of video traffic, mobile devices and new online services, and we are confident these technologies will play a key role in enabling Verizon to continue delivering advanced new FiOS experiences to its customers."

The Cisco platform will enable content providers and large enterprise customers to benefit from more efficient and quicker access in delivering traffic to Verizon's wireline and wireless consumers.

The CRS platform also plays a key role in Verizon's network evolution strategy to IPv6, the new Internet addressing system, by providing the flexibility to support the anticipated wave of IPv6 services while continuing to expand and sustain IPv4 services.