Affiniti, the communications integrator, has been awarded Nortel EMEA Partner of the Year for 2005, at Nortel's Partner Conference in Cannes, France.

Peter Kelly, President, Enterprise EMEA at Nortel, said: "This award is in recognition of Affiniti's outstanding performance over the past year. The company has significantly grown its Nortel revenue and strengthened its position as a leading UK partner in data, security, optical and converged communications, such as IP telephony and contact centres."�

Gary Young, Managing Director at Affiniti, said: "This has been a tremendous year for Affiniti. We have implemented innovative Nortel solutions to our customers that deliver real value against their business objectives. Recent customer solutions include: a converged communications network for the Royal Free Hospital; a unique wireless teaching and learning environment for Edinburgh's Telford College; and a highly resilient and secure platform for Resolution Asset Management to support its mission critical applications and growth strategy. "

Gary Young continues: "Winning this award against strong competition across the EMEA region demonstrates Affiniti's ability to market, sell and deliver the entire Nortel portfolio and lead the way in the converged communications market."�

Affiniti, a Kingston Communications business, has been working with Nortel for over 10 years as a Gold Solutions Partner and has received numerous accolades, including Partner of the Year awards in 2003 and 2001, Partner of Innovation 2001, Convergence Partner 2002, and more recently Best Customer Focus in 2004.

Affiniti, the communications integrator, specialises in designing, implementing and managing intelligent communications solutions for private and public sector organisations.

Some of its customers include: Experian, Carphone Warehouse, British Airways, Ford, Admiral Insurance, Edinburgh Telford College , Royal Liverpool & Broadgreen Hospital , Cheshire Police, Citigroup, Lloyds TSB.

Affiniti is part of the KCOM Group.

KCOM Group PLC provides a range of integrated IT and communications services to businesses, and internet and telecommunications services to selected consumer markets, within the UK .

The Group's portfolio of businesses works with both leading private enterprise customers and public sector organisations. Through its Affiniti, Smart421 and JAM IP brands, the Group delivers solutions covering unified communications, contact centre solutions, data management, applications integration and managed services.

The KCOM Group also includes a regionally-focused business, Kingston Communications, which supports small to medium-sized businesses. Through its KC and Eclipse brands, the business offers a wide range of internet-based and telecommunications services. The regional business also provides telephony and internet services to targeted consumers through its KC, Eclipse and Karoo brands.

The Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange and employs over 2,700 people across the UK .

Sally Robards or Kate Mills
Kaizo
020 7580 8852
E: affiniti@kaizo.net

Cathy Phillips
Affiniti
01482 602400
E: cathy.phillips@kcom.com