EarthLink Purchases Private Line, Colocation and Internet Access Services
BROOMFIELD, Colo., April 29, 2002 - Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:LVLT) today announced it has signed new agreements to provide private line, colocation and Internet access services to EarthLink (Nasdaq:ELNK).
Specifically, EarthLink has purchased (3)Link Private Line services from Level 3 connecting 18 U.S. markets. EarthLink also signed an agreement for (3)Center Colocation space in 14 U.S. markets, and extended its commitment for (3)CrossRoads Internet access service. EarthLink purchased the services to further enhance its efforts to deliver the highest quality network to its customers.
The new agreements add to existing services Level 3 provides to EarthLink, including (3)Connect Modem,
Level 3's softswitch-based dial-up Internet access service. EarthLink has a growing customer base of nearly five million subscribers.
"These new agreements with Level 3 will enable us to expand and optimize our broadband infrastructure," said Steve Dean, vice president of operations business management at EarthLink. "Level 3 is helping us by supplying private lines, colocation space and Internet access that will provide EarthLink with the building blocks we need for improving the speed, capacity and efficiency of our broadband network."
"Our disaggregated business model is focused squarely on providing layer three and below broadband services to the top 300 consumers of bandwidth," said Neil Hobbs, group vice president for Level 3. "These new agreements with EarthLink illustrate a buying trend that we're seeing from our carrier, ISP, cable, wireless and satellite customers that allows them to use our services to gain full management control over their networks."
EarthLink Purchases Unprotected Private Line Services
Level 3 sells two distinct classifications of private line services: protected and unprotected. Protected private lines use capacity on fiber that Level 3 has "protected" with an alternate transport path, giving customers network redundancy that safeguards them against fiber cuts and other physical problems that can cause service disruptions.
Under the agreement announced today, EarthLink has purchased unprotected private line services from Level 3. Unprotected private lines use capacity on fiber that Level 3 has not protected with an alternate transport path.
"With unprotected private lines, EarthLink and other customers have the opportunity to design their own protection scheme by creating a new meshed network or by adding capacity or protection to their existing transport-based networks," said Jeff Tench, vice president of Global Private Line Services for Level 3. "This service gives them more control over their networks at less cost.
"Unprotected private line services are similar to our wavelength services in that they allow our customers to take advantage of the cost savings and flexibility of network capacity regardless of their bandwidth needs. And the fact that we provision these services faster than any other carrier gives EarthLink the advantage of speed to market."
(3)Center Colocation and (3)CrossRoads Internet Access
With colocation facilities in 57 U.S. markets and 9 European markets - and local and long haul networks connecting them together - Level 3's colocation customers are able to achieve an 'instant presence' in virtually all major markets in the U.S. and Europe. (3)CrossRoads provides connectivity to Level 3's IP network spanning the U.S. and Europe with more than 63 Gbs of connectivity to the public Internet, making it one of the largest Tier 1 Internet backbones in the world.
About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT), an international communications company, operates one of the largest Internet backbones in the world, connecting 180 markets in 18 countries. The company serves a broad range of wholesale, enterprise and content customers with a comprehensive suite of services including: Internet Protocol (IP) services, broadband transport and infrastructure services, colocation services, voice and voice over IP services, content delivery and media distribution services. These services provide the building blocks to enable Level 3’s customers to meet their growing demands for advanced communications solutions. The company’s Web address is www.Level3.com.
"Level 3 Communications,” "Level 3," the red 3D brackets and the Level 3 Communications logo are registered service marks of Level 3 Communications, LLC in the United States and/or other countries. Level 3 services are provided by wholly owned subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc. Any other service, product or company names recited herein may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statement
Some of the statements that we make in this press release are forward looking in nature. These statements are based on management’s current expectations or beliefs. These forward looking statements are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside our control, which could cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements. The most important factors that could prevent us from achieving our stated goals include, but are not limited to our ability to: successfully integrate acquisitions; increase the volume of traffic on our network; defend our intellectual property and proprietary rights; develop new products and services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; successfully complete commercial testing of new technology and information systems to support new products and services; attract and retain qualified management and other personnel; and meet all of the terms and conditions of our debt obligations. Additional information concerning these and other important factors can be found within Level 3’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important factors. Level 3 is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
