The new service, available immediately, enables small businesses to quickly acquire a reliable, cost-effective and advanced VoIP solution that CenturyLink manages for customers.

“CenturyLink is committed to helping small businesses grow by providing cost-effective technology services that help them avoid unnecessary IT costs and scale to their changing needs,” said Vernon Irvin, senior vice president, CenturyLink. “Our new robust communications platform gives these businesses access to enterprise-grade features without the need for on-site IT technical support to install and maintain services. Budget-conscious businesses can rely on CenturyLink to meet all of their technology needs, including high-speed internet plus a suite of offerings with Office 365 and other business applications.”

CenturyLink Business VoIP for small business leverages a single cloud-based unified communications platform for business-class communications, enhancing flexibility, mobility, collaboration and customer engagement. This pre-packaged service comes fully ready to use and customers can use their existing analog or IP phone equipment with optional softphone, or purchase new equipment.

“Adoption of VoIP solutions is expanding rapidly among small businesses as they look to migrate from traditional phone services to integrated, IP-based voice and unified communications solutions to meet the needs of an increasingly distributed and mobile workforce,” said Amy Lind, research manager, Business VoIP and Unified Communications with industry analyst firm IDC. “Small businesses generally lack budget to make significant technology investments and IT support staff, so they are looking for plug-and-play solutions that offer predictable, flat-rate pricing, require little training or ongoing maintenance and support and that are flexible and scalable.”

When purchasing CenturyLink Business VoIP, customers can choose from two packages, both of which include unlimited nationwide long distance, competitive international rates and premium VoIP features. For a small additional monthly cost, customers can purchase additional unified communications features such as Outlook directory and calendar integration and file sharing between clients, plus integrate multiple devices such as a laptop or cell phone to utilize their VoIP service when offsite.

CenturyLink is committed to delivering best-in-class business VoIP services and has been recognized for these efforts. The company recently received the 2016 North American Hosted IP Telephony and Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) Growth Excellence Leadership award from Frost & Sullivan.

About CenturyLink
CenturyLink is a global communications and IT services company focused on connecting its customers to the power of the digital world. CenturyLink offers network and data systems management, big data analytics, managed security services, hosting, cloud, and IT consulting services. The company provides broadband, voice, video, advanced data and managed network services over a robust 265,000-route-mile U.S. fiber network and a 360,000-route-mile international transport network. Visit CenturyLink for more information.

KBZ has expanded its C-band and Ku-band capacity on AsiaSat 4 and AsiaSat 7 satellites to meet the growing demands from clients in the banking and finance, oil and gas industries for faster services and more cost-efficient connectivity. Since its launch of service on AsiaSat in 2016, KBZ has successfully expanded its high-speed broadband network connecting 300 remote sites across the country for KBZ Bank’s branch network connectivity and reliable 24-hour ATM service, as well as communications for remote oil and gas exploration sites.

With the expanded capacity, KBZ is able to offer advanced broadband services supporting up to 100 Mbps of throughput, while serving its clients with increased speed and reliability, enabling KBZ to further expand into the hospitality sector.

“AsiaSat has the best reputation for customer service and its powerful footprints perfectly match the requirements of our service portfolio that allow top quality service to be delivered to our customers with high uptimes on Ku-band even in the rain. We anticipate with the launch of AsiaSat 9 later this year, we and our clients will further benefit from its increased power and enhanced coverage to enjoy higher uptime and the fastest speed ever for our data networks across Myanmar,” said U Naing Tun Kyaw, Managing Director of KBZ Gateway Co. Ltd.

“Myanmar remains a key focus for growth in the Asia-Pacific region, and we are delighted to be contributing to the growth of the Myanmar economy through our partnership with KBZ. A successful partnership AsiaSat looks forward to growing,” said Barrie Woolston, Chief Commercial Officer of AsiaSat.

AsiaSat 9 is AsiaSat’s next generation satellite, planned to replace AsiaSat 4 at 122ºE. AsiaSat 9 carries the world’s first dedicated Myanmar Ku-band beam providing a downlink power up to 55 dBW that allows for smaller and less costly antennas for VSAT broadband and DTH services across the country, in addition to a C-band footprint that offers enhanced power and coverage across the AsiaPacific region.