BROOMFIELD, Colo., May 8, 2003 - Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:LVLT) today announced it has signed a multi-year, multi-million-dollar IRU agreement to supply intercity dark fiber services to the National Research and Education Fiber Company (Fiberco), a new organization established by Internet2 to purchase and distribute fiber-optic assets to regional advanced networking organizations and research universities throughout the U.S.
The fiber, when lit by these groups, is expected to enable testing of a wide variety of highly advanced network applications, including uncompressed high-definition television quality video, remote control of scientific instruments such as mountaintop telescopes and electron microscopes, collaboration using immersive virtual reality, and grid computing.
"Level 3 has become an increasingly important partner to the research university community, and has been instrumental in helping us address our existing and anticipated fiber-optic networking needs," said Steve Corbató, director of backbone network infrastructure for Internet2. "With this capability, Fiberco will support the important regional optical network development work now underway among our membership."
"Internet2 operates one of the premier research networks in the world, and we are pleased that Level 3 has been chosen to support their fiber-optic networking requirements," said Kevin Dundon, senior vice president of Global Infrastructure Services for Level 3. "Level 3 is committed to serving the research and education community by providing services on what we believe is the highest performance and best maintained fiber-optic network in the U.S."
(3)Link Dark Fiber provides the research and education community with the infrastructure and services required to operate and maintain an advanced fiber-optic network that will serve highly specialized, bandwidth-intensive needs far into the future. (3)Link Dark Fiber services include optical fiber cable, fiber-based network extensions, colocation and running line facility space, power, and operation and maintenance of the network.
Level 3's intercity dark fiber services feature approximately 16,000 intercity route miles in the U.S. connecting more than 150 cities and an approximately 3,600-mile pan-European network. Level 3's network employs high fiber counts, the latest generation of optical fiber, and carrier-neutral colocation facilities.
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.
