In almost every category, we continued to be the U.S. leader in meeting the always-growing communications needs of businesses of all sizes.

To keep pace with our customers — and to keep ahead of our competitors — we continued to invest in state-of-the-art technology and to improve our capabilities. Our acquisition of USinternetworking strengthened our position in the growing application management services market.

And we expanded our reach in key Asian markets, with strategic relationships in India and Vietnam. In fact, we were the first foreign telecom operator to be granted a license to provide telecom services in India.

We also tapped new markets by making products and services originally designed for large businesses, such as network security and business-continuity services, available to small and midsized businesses. As a result, small and midsized business revenue in our local service territory grew at a double-digit pace in the second half of the year.