Windstream Receives 2012 Unified Communications Excellence Award

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Jan. 28, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Windstream (Nasdaq:WIN), a leading provider of advanced network communications, announced today that TMC, a global, integrated marketing company, has named Windstream as a recipient of the 2012 Unified Communications Excellence Award presented by INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine.

The award honors products that demonstrate innovation, distinctive features and major contributions toward improving technology in unified communications.

Windstream, which serves more than 450,000 business customers nationwide, provides businesses with a full suite of unified communications solutions, from VoIP to communications equipment and managed services.

Windstream was awarded the 2012 Unified Communications Excellence Award for its ability to provide customized unified communications solutions for its business customers. Windstream designed a customized, fully managed Unified Communications solution for Pratt Industries – the fifth largest box manufacturer in the U.S. – that allowed the company to connect and centralize communications among their 72 locations nationwide.

The customized solution designed for Pratt Industries includes Windstream's award-winning Dynamic IP VoIP solution with SIP trunking capability. The Unified Communications solution is built upon the Mitel 3300 IP Communications Platform (ICP)—which is housed in one of Windstream's enterprise-class data centers—and utilizes Windstream's Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) network to connect Pratt's geographically and functionally diverse locations. The Mitel 3300 ICP is a highly scalable communications system that provides enterprise IP PBX capability plus a range of embedded applications including standard unified messaging, auto-attendant, ACD, and wireless gateway.

"We are pleased to grant a 2012 Unified Communications Excellence Award to Windstream for its commitment to excellence while addressing real needs in the marketplace," said Rich Tehrani, CEO, TMC. "Congratulations to the team at Windstream on receiving this award, and we look forward to future innovations."

Unified Communications Excellence Award winners were published in the November 2012 issue of INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine. For more information about TMC, please visit www.tmcnet.com .

About Windstream

Windstream Corp. (Nasdaq:WIN) is a leading provider of advanced network communications, including cloud computing and managed services, to businesses nationwide. The company also offers broadband, phone and digital TV services to consumers primarily in rural areas. Windstream has more than $6 billion in annual revenues and is listed on the S&P 500 index. For more information, visit www.windstream.com.

The Windstream Corporation logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=8314

About TMC

TMC is a global, integrated media company that helps clients build communities in print, in person and online. TMC publishes multiple magazines including CUSTOMER , INTERNET TELEPHONY , M2M Evolution and Cloud Computing . TMCnet is read by more than 1.5 million unique visitors each month, and is the leading source of news and articles for the communications and technology industries. TMC is also the producer of ITEXPO, the world's leading B2B communications event, as well as industry events: M2M Evolution; Cloud4SMB Expo; DevCon5; HTML5 Summit; Super Wi-Fi Summit, CVx; AstriCon; StartupCamp; MSPWorld and more . Visit TMC Events for a complete listing and further information.

CONTACT: Windstream Contact:
         Alice Hartnett
         704-887-0327
         [e-mail]