Level 3 Communications, a provider of IP communications services, announced the Metro Ethernet Forum (News - Alert) (MEF), an industry alliance, has honored the company with the "Service Provider of the Year" award for its Ethernet services in the Caribbean and Latin America (CALA).

Level 3 also won the "Best Business Ethernet Service" award from MEF (News - Alert). The recognition is significant for the IP communications services provider as the MEF Carrier Ethernet Service Provider Awards recognize excellence and leadership in the development, marketing and delivery of Carrier Ethernet services.

"The 'Service Provider of the Year' award represents the highest cumulative score for all categories - business, wholesale and marketing - with an additional score for service coverage, access technologies and partnership agreements," said Nan Chen, MEF president, in a statement.

The service provider won the “Best Business Ethernet Service” award for delivering the most unique and innovative Ethernet service to the enterprise segment within the CALA region.

MEF notes that providers like Level 3 are helping companies leverage the technology to create business value. Ethernet is a key component for companies trying to drive growth while also increasing efficiencies.

"Level 3 is proud to receive these awards in recognition of our Ethernet services," said Hector Alonso, Level 3's regional president Latin America. "We're working closely with our customers, as well as with organizations like MEF, to create value for the market by offering services we believe are the most reliable and flexible Ethernet solutions available."

 A judging panel comprising five global and regional analysts finalizes these awards that are presented annually in North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and in the Caribbean and Latin America region.

Recently, Level 3 and the nonprofit Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) announced that the Level 3 advanced IP network is playing an essential part in the Central Valley Next Generation Broadband Infrastructure project that is charted to bring economic, educational benefits of advanced Internet services to underserved rural regions.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO registration click here.

Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO. Follow us on Twitter.