Financial Services Provider Guardian Investor Services LLC Selects NTT/VERIO Managed Hosting And Custom Web Solutions For Launch Of New Site [February 4, 2004]

Englewood, CO, February 4, 2004 - Verio, a subsidiary of NTT Communications (NTT Com) and a leader in global IP solutions, today announced that Guardian Investor Services LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, has selected NTT/VERIO PowerPlatform managed hosting services for the launch of its new site GuardianInvestor.com.

The company also tapped Verio for its Custom Web Solutions (CWS) to assist with site assessment, design and incorporation of new site features to ensure a positive customer experience for Guardian Investor Services' online business.

Guardian Investor Services, which offers financial products and services including annuities, mutual funds and retirement services, launched GuardianInvestor.com to provide online access to in-depth product and company information, and a password-protected portion of the site allows financial professionals and investors to safely and securely manage portfolios online. A firewall provides an extra layer of protection, safeguarding sensitive investment information from hackers and other disasters. The new site also integrates the company's ParkAvenuePortfolio.com Internet property, providing background on the company's Park Avenue Portfolio® family of mutual funds, as well as a basic introduction to mutual funds, intended to help inform and educate investors about the key features and benefits of mutual funds as investment vehicles.

"With this new site, Guardian Investor Services' Web presence provides one central location for individuals and financial professionals to manage investment portfolios online, as well as for potential customers and the general public to learn about the company's offerings," explained Karen Gens, manager of E-Business for Guardian Investor Services LLC. "With guidance from Verio on the development and maintenance of our online business solution, we have fully reconfigured the site and its services. This combined approach enables us to deliver a powerful financial management solution, and gives financial professionals and investors the tools and information to safely, securely and easily manage their portfolios and conduct business online."

The completed solution is fully managed by Verio and housed on a dedicated Windows server with a managed and monitored Netscreen firewall, as well as a basic weekly backup service. Third party validation of NTT/VERIO hosting solutions under the Statement of Auditing Standards No. 70 (SAS70) Type II certification, coupled with the security and redundancy of the NTT/VERIO Premier Data Center, ensure that Guardian Investor Services' solution meets stringent guidelines set by the financial services industry.

"GuardianInvestor.com is a business critical site that provides a great deal of custom content, such as account details and up-to-date status information on mutual funds and annuities, so our managed hosting needs are considerable. We knew early on we needed a hosting provider that could ensure a high availability solution at a competitive price, and after careful consideration, we chose to work with Verio," explained Gens. "Verio's strong relationship with parent company NTT Communications also ensures access to global resources as needed and a long-term commitment to customers in this marketspace."

As part of the site redesign and launch, Verio developed interactive and user-friendly features and tools, including an online tour of the site, and a database that aggregates information on a wide range of mutual funds, helping site visitors make informed decisions about their investments. Other new site features include a custom-built data management system that assesses the usability of various pages, helping to guide Guardian Investor Services' marketing efforts.

"In developing IT strategy to deliver a comprehensive Internet-based portfolio management solution, Guardian Investor Services recognized that in order to compete with other financial product sites, it needed to deliver a succinct web presence - one mega-site strongly geared toward online investment and retirement functionality," said Isabel Ehringer, president of Enterprise Hosting for Verio. "The company has already seen a jump in user registrations, and Verio is pleased to serve Guardian Investor Services with continued hosting solutions and custom development services as it strengthens its online presence and grows the number of online business customers."

"As an integral part of the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, Guardian Investor Services strives to meet the diverse needs of the investment community," said Gens. "We work hard to be valued as an industry leader through client satisfaction, growth, and financial strength and profitability, and as a combined effort, Verio is helping us meet those business goals."

About Verio Custom Web Solutions
Verio Custom Web Solutions (CWS) is Verio's professional development team, providing custom support solutions to suit individual customer application requirements, and giving businesses access to a full range of expertly-designed custom solutions with a single point of contact and no prep-packaged pricing (www.veriodesign.com).

About Guardian
The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company, Inc. (GIAC), Guardian Investor Services LLC (GIS) and Park Avenue Securities LLC (PAS) are wholly owned subsidiaries of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY (Guardian), the fourth largest mutual life insurance company in the United States. As of December 31, 2002, Guardian and its subsidiaries had over $34 billion in assets. Founded in 1860, Guardian is listed among Fortune magazine's top 500 businesses---and in 2002 was ranked once again as one of the top 10 most admired life and health companies in Fortune's "America's Most Admired Companies" list. With 5,500 employees, over 2,700 financial representatives and 100 agencies nationwide, Guardian and its subsidiaries protect individuals, businesses and their employees with life, disability, health and dental insurance products as well as offering mutual funds, annuity investment products, and trust services. More information on Guardian can be obtained at: www.glic.com.

About Verio
Verio Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of NTT Communications (NTT Com), which provides complementary global network access reaching over 200 countries worldwide. Verio is one of the world's largest operator of Web sites for businesses and a leading provider of global IP solutions. NTT Com and Verio market their global IP solutions under the NTT/VERIO brand. The company offers businesses a broad range of Internet services, including Web hosting, dedicated access, virtual private networks, and managed service offerings, among other enhanced services. Verio supports its operations with highly reliable and scalable global infrastructure and systems including the NTT/VERIO Global IP Network, and provides Web hosting services to customers in more than 146 countries. The combination of Verio and NTT Com offers services to meet the growing and diverse needs of all businesses, including small to medium businesses, large global enterprises and multi-national corporations. More information can be found at www.verio.com and www.ntt.com/index-e.html.