Level 3’s (3)VoIP EnhancedSM Local Service Enables Cable Operator to Cost-Effectively Speed its Deployment of High-Quality Voice Services
BROOMFIELD, Colo., March 16, 2005 – Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:LVLT) today announced that Adelphia Communications Corporation has selected Level 3 as its exclusive wholesale VoIP services provider for residential voice services that Adelphia expects to begin offering to customers in select markets in 2005.
Under the terms of the agreement, Level 3 will provide Adelphia with (3)VoIP Enhanced Local service, a wholesale residential voice solution that provides connectivity to the public switched telephone network and other enhanced features. Adelphia is the fifth-largest cable television company in the country, with approximately 5.2 million cable customers and 1.4 million high-speed Internet access customers in 31 states and Puerto Rico.
“This agreement with Level 3 allows Adelphia to bundle residential voice services with our existing suite of cable and Internet offerings without us incurring the costly expense of building out PSTN termination capability in LEC central offices,” said Marwan Fawaz, CTO for Adelphia. “We chose to partner with Level 3 because the company provides carrier-quality, SIP-based wholesale voice services that accelerate our time to market. Level 3 has a proven, technically advanced IP network that will allow us to deliver digital phone services to our customers in a reliable and cost-effective manner.”
“We’re very pleased that Adelphia has chosen Level 3 to provide the wholesale building blocks for its new residential phone service,” said Sureel Choksi, executive vice president for Level 3. “We look forward to working closely with Adelphia as the company adds high-quality digital phone services to its existing portfolio of video and broadband consumer services.”
A recent survey* of more than 1,400 U.S. adults showed that 71 percent would consider moving to VoIP as an alternative to their current phone service. Nearly 73 percent of the surveyed respondents indicated that they would prefer to purchase VoIP as part of a bundle of telecommunications services. The most desirable bundle, according to the survey, was VoIP packaged with broadband.
(3)VoIP Enhanced Local Service
Level 3’s (3)VoIP Enhanced Local service is a wholesale VoIP solution that enables companies who operate their own switching infrastructures to launch IP-based local and long-distance communications services to residential and business customers via any broadband connection. Level 3’s proprietary softswitch platform makes the service efficient, enabling cable operators such as Adelphia to cost effectively speed their deployment of high-quality VoIP services.
(3)VoIP Enhanced Local provides the essential components required to offer high-quality VoIP services. These components include network trunking, local numbers, local number portability, the safety of E-911, operator assistance, directory listings, and directory assistance. At the same time, the (3)VoIP Enhanced Local solution allows Level 3 customers, such as Adelphia, to retain the flexibility to manage and control end-user features without the difficulties of implementing complex interconnection arrangements.
The E-911 feature is Level 3’s enhanced 911 service, which adds further value to its broad suite of VoIP services. E-911 associates a caller’s number with the caller’s location and automatically connects the call to the closest Public Safety Access Point.
“Many of the companies that have begun to offer non-traditional communications services are taking shortcuts on 911 that could compromise public safety,” said Myrle McNeal, vice president of Consumer Voice Services for Level 3. “Where available, Enhanced 911, or E-911, works just like the 911 service that Americans have come to trust for decades. Using Level 3’s VoIP service, consumers can make an E-911 call and have the confidence that the emergency response team will arrive at their house and not at a house three streets or three states away.”
Today, Level 3 offers a broad suite of wholesale IP-based voice solutions for the residential and business markets over a robust softswitch-based network platform that reaches approximately 93 percent of the U.S. population and carries more than 30 billion minutes of IP-based voice and data calls every month.
For more information about Level 3’s portfolio of voice services, please visit www.Level3.com
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.
