LAGOS, Nigeria, March 23, 2009 - Senior executives from Suburban, West Africa's leading Internet Protocol (IP) backbone technology and services provider, became the first in Nigeria to experience the immersive, in-person experience of Cisco TelePresence® when they recently conducted a virtual, face-to-face meeting with Cisco's Cisco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Chambers. Suburban CEO Bruce Ayonote, joined by members of his management team, used Cisco TelePresence to discuss how the technology could be deployed in the offices of banks, energy multinationals, service providers, public sector organisations and other enterprises as well as and governments throughout West Africa.

"In today's climate, when companies are looking at better ways to conduct business efficiently whilst also keeping a firm control on costs, Suburban is in the unique position of currently being the only company in the West African region that has the fiber infrastructure to offer Cisco TelePresence as cost effective solution," commented Ayonote. "We were very impressed with how real the whole experience was. We were able to interact with John Chambers in his offices in San Jose as if he were sitting across the table from us without incurring the high costs and time of travel. This is definitely a technology that will benefit many organisations across the board in Nigeria, and in the initial phase, we plan to work with Cisco to facilitate collaboration between regional governments using Cisco TelePresence."

"A Cisco TelePresence meeting is as simple as making a phone call, and when participants sit down at the conference table in a Cisco TelePresence room, other participants appear to be sitting across the table, in life size, no matter where they are," said David Seda, general manager for Cisco in Nigeria. "For businesses in West Africa, TelePresence will bridge geographical divides, by enabling highly secure virtual meetings with multiple locations inside or outside the corporate firewall. Ultimately, the solution will help to save costs and boost productivity by reducing travel and facilitate a 'greener' company environment by reducing its carbon footprint."

Note to Editors:

Cisco TelePresence creates live, immersive, face-to-face experiences over the network, enabling users to experience real-time communication and collaborate with colleagues, prospects, and partners, even if they are in opposite hemispheres. Cisco TelePresence does not just match the experience of an in-person meeting; it can scale beyond in person interactions, bringing an organisation's few experts and specialists everywhere, anytime. A bank expert on investment products, for example, can have face-to-face life-size, private meetings with any customer at any bank branch, without having to leave the organisation's HQ. Similarly, for an exploration company, a geological data analyst can meet face-to-face with several teams on separate remote rigs and platforms all in one day, and still attend personal commitments like a child's football game for example.

About Suburban

Suburban is a Next Generation Carrier with a network that spans the West Africa sub-region and provides global reach. Suburban's product portfolio includes a full complement of wholesale internet services and international private line connectivity, as well as MPLS-based managed router services across West Africa. Suburban uses its network and product portfolio to meet the voice, data and video needs of West African's premier mobile operators, enterprise customers and ISPs. For more details please visit: http://www.suburbantelecom.com/