TORONTO--(Marketwire - Nov 9, 2011) - Primus Telecommunications Canada Inc. (Primus Canada), a wholly owned subsidiary of [ PTGi (Primus Telecommunications Group, Incorporated) ] (NYSE: [ PTGI ]), today announced that construction has begun on a new high density Data Center facility in Markham to meet the spiking demand among GTA businesses for mission critical and business continuity solutions. This newest member of Primus Canada's national footprint of 8 data Centers is designed to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, will be certified by the Uptime Institute as a Tier III site, and will offer advanced Disaster Recovery features.

The new Toronto Data Center enhances the scale of Primus Canada's IT management services and represents significant progress in the transformation of the company into a full-service, next-generation, information and communications technology provider. This investment is further evidence that Primus Canada is committed to growth and expansion in data Center capabilities as part of a total PTGi strategy. The Toronto-based management team is working on delivering enhanced enterprise-quality IT facilities to key metropolitan cities all across Canada.

"Through our continuing national expansion program, we now have one of the largest data center footprints in the country. Our Primus Business Services team has demonstrated its expertise and ongoing execution capabilities to be considered a data Center leader for the business market across Canada," says Andrew Day, CEO of Primus Canada. "We are designing and constructing state-of-the-art Tier III facilities that aim to meet our customer's managed services and cloud platform requirements well into the future."

The first phase of this 30,000 square foot GTA Data Center initiative will be a 7,500 square foot pod that is built to LEED standards for environmental sustainability. The Data Center will include an innovative HVAC system that leverages free-air cooling and optimized air distribution to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in energy utilization over their current facility designs, and effectively eliminate the water usage and waste resulting from the HVAC plant that is used in most data center designs today. As a result, companies that elect to host their IT services in the Primus Canada Data Center can better meet targets for environmental sustainability, which is quickly growing in importance for high-end customers.

"We have seen tremendous growth in demand for our data Center services, and expect double digit increases in FCEs despite the current economic volatility. Today, businesses trying to stretch their capital dollars are quickly realizing the benefits of data Center hosting services," said AJ Byers, Executive Vice-President of Primus Business Services. "We have been servicing data center needs across Canada for more than 10 years now, and we recognize that businesses need higher density facilities that meet the highest levels of certification for service availability. We believe that we are a perfect match to address the ongoing environmental challenges that surround mission critical computing facilities."

To ensure clients' data is available to them when needed, the new facility will be certified to the Uptime Institute's Tier III Site specifications. To achieve this certification, the site must have multiple independent distribution paths serving the IT equipment, all IT equipment must be dual-powered and fully compatible with the topology of a site's architecture and include concurrently maintainable site infrastructure guaranteeing the highest standards for service availability in the Canadian data center market.

Although Disaster Recovery is a growing concern of businesses, a recent survey by the AFCOM, the world's leading data center association, found that more than 15 per cent of all data centers have no plan for business continuity or disaster recovery. Primus' Data Centers can assist businesses in safeguarding their sensitive data as they are housed in a highly secure infrastructure, with full server and generator backup in case of a power outage, and protection against environmental emergencies with advanced fire and cooling protection; so invaluable data, such as customer information and financial records, remain safe at all times.

Primus Canada's Data Center services offered by Primus Business Services enable businesses to see the following benefits:

• Increased peace of mind: Each Data Center has obtained full Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance, Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) Section 5970 Type B and Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) No. 16 (previously called Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) 70 Type II) certifications so that businesses who select a Primus Canada certified Data Center can reduce the complexity and investment required to ensure their own compliance.
• Reduced cost of IT infrastructure ownership: Building and maintaining data centers is quite costly. By selecting a managed data center or cloud solution, customers do not have to invest in managing the facility, its back-up systems, or the power requirements thus allowing businesses to utilize their precious resources to invest in growing the business.
• Increased internal resource efficiencies: Choosing a managed data Center permits companies to utilize their internal IT resources more effectively. Primus Canada provides 24/7 support for servers, and can manage a variety of outsourced responsibilities so businesses can shift their focus to more strategic initiatives.
• The Primus Canada network backbone connects its Data Centers: Primus Canada customers are offered a fully packaged solution with connectivity access and data Center hosting services. Businesses need only partner with Primus Business Services for the full suite of IT services -- it's a single service point for business.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada's largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 100,000 real estate brokers/agents and salespeople working through more than 100 real estate Boards and Associations. CREA has used Primus services, including DNS Hosting and Server Colocation, since 2004.

Christian Probst, Director of IT for CREA, said, "Primus gives us the availability, capacity and continuity we need to serve our members and help Canadians across the country to find new homes -- every day, 24/7."

About Primus Business Services
[ Primus Business Services ] is a leading national data Center and managed services solutions provider, offering services that include virtual storage and security, disaster recovery and cloud computing, voice, and IP connectivity solutions to more than 60,000 Canadian companies. Primus Canada Business Services owns and manages eight world-class, state-of-the-art data Centers across Canada. Global companies are able to take advantage of PTGi's international presence with data Centers in Australia and Brazil. Primus Business Services is a division of [ Primus Telecommunications Canada Inc. ] Visit [ www.primuspbs.ca ] for more information.

About PTGi
PTGi (Primus Telecommunications Group, Incorporated) is a leading provider of advanced communication solutions, including broadband Internet, traditional and IP voice, data, mobile services, collocation, hosting, and outsourced managed services to business and residential customers in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Brazil. PTGi is also one of the leading international wholesale service providers to telecommunications carriers worldwide. PTGi owns and operates its own global network of next-generation IP soft switches, media gateways, hosted IP/SIP platforms, broadband infrastructure, fiber capacity, and data centers located in Canada, Australia, and Brazil. Founded in 1994, PTGi is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.