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Surges in Global VoIP and NGN Also Fuel 81-Percent Increase in Traffic; Company Adds U.K. PoP to Expand Network Capacity

LONDON - Feb. 4, 2010 - XConnect, the leader in next-generation interconnection and carrier ENUM-registry services, today announced robust 2009 growth figures, demonstrating the effects of rapid global adoption of VoIP. The company also said it has launched a new London point of presence (PoP) to support growing demand for cross-network interconnection of IP communications services and augment its European capacity.

XConnect revenue nearly doubled, rising 96 percent, from 2008 to 2009. Bolstering that increase were 81-percent growth in IP traffic, a 107-percent rise in routing queries to its carrier ENUM registries, and addition of 63 new service-provider customers.

The provider of neutral and trusted multilateral interconnection services now serves customers in 30 countries through its carrier ENUM-based Interconnect 2.0 service portfolio, including Global Alliance, National Federations, DirectRoute and VoIP Traffic Manager. XConnect customers span the globe, and include providers of fixed, mobile and Web 2.0 services.

"Rapid uptake of next-generation IP communications is driving our growth," said XConnect CEO Eli Katz. "We're seeing this because we provide an essential solution for service providers migrating from the PSTN."

"Operators need scalable and secure interconnection services to improve quality, reduce costs, and deliver new multimedia services across networks on all-IP paths. We are ideally positioned to meet this requirement," he added.

Katz said he expects these trends to intensify in 2010, fueling further growth.

"IP communications adoption continues to gain momentum," said TeleGeography analyst Stephan Beckert. "International TDM traffic growth has slowed to a crawl, and is projected to start declining in the near future, while VoIP traffic continues to increase strongly. Consumers are also embracing VoIP services. Last year, 31 percent of West European households subscribed to a fixed-line VoIP phone service. This transition is compelling carriers to transition to a next-generation interconnect infrastructure."

Katz also noted that rising service-provider deployment of advanced services, such as high-definition (HD) voice and video, is spearheading demand for end-to-end IP connectivity. Capitalizing on growing HD voice popularity, XConnect last month announced a three-month trial of a peering federation dedicated to HD voice-enabled carriers.
In addition, Katz predicted XConnect will benefit this year from increased global acceptance of carrier ENUM registry services, such as XConnect's registry service and the GSMA PathFinder™ number-translation service.
XConnect's industry-first agreement with the GSMA, announced in September, enables interoperability between these two services through the XConnect Global Alliance SuperQuery feature. Carrier ENUM-based interconnection services enable providers to optimize routing, increase quality, decrease costs and support revenue- generating advanced services across networks.

To accommodate traffic growth and enhance its European capacity while reinforcing performance and redundancy, XConnect added a London PoP last month. Buoyed by a $10 million Series B round last September, XConnect plans more market-leading product innovation, including mobile services and infrastructure expansion, in 2010.

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About XConnect
The global leader in network peering, XConnect is trusted by IP-based service providers in 30 countries to offer a suite of Interconnect 2.0 services, including carrier ENUM-registry and next-generation multimedia interconnection hub solutions. London-based XConnect offers the most comprehensive and reliable solutions to help service providers deliver rich multimedia IP communications across networks while improving service quality and reducing costs. Backed by Tier 1 venture capital firms, XConnect operates the largest worldwide ENUM-based IP-peering federation, the Global Alliance, and the world's first national VoIP/NGN interconnection federations, in the Netherlands and Korea. For more information, please visit www.xconnect.net.