[May 19, 2005] Level 3 CEO James Crowe Comments on FCC 911 Ruling for VoIP Service Providers Tweet BROOMFIELD, Colo., May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The following statement can be attributed to James Q. Crowe, chief executive officer of Level 3 Communications, Inc. : "Earlier today, the Federal Communications Commission issued an important ruling on the public safety obligations of Voice-over-IP service providers. Specifically, the FCC directed that VoIP providers interconnected to the public switched telephone network deliver E-911 service to their subscribers within 120 days of the order's publication. "Level 3 welcomes and applauds the Commission's ruling and looks forward to the release of the full text of the implementing order. We see it as evidence of the increasing role that VoIP is playing in mainstream communications and in the daily lives of Americans. We have long held that widespread adoption of VoIP as a primary service will not occur until consumers trust that it can replicate the emergency-calling capabilities of the standard telephone land line. "For those reasons, Level 3 has invested substantial time, energy and capital to build E-911 functionality into our VoIP network platform over the past several years. Today, we can deliver E-911-enabled VoIP services to areas encompassing more than 66 percent of households nationwide, and we are the underlying supplier of E-911 service to a wide range of cable companies, ISPs, carriers and other VoIP providers. "We look forward to working with our existing and prospective customers over the next few months, and beyond, to help them comply with the FCC's requirements in this area. Voice over IP remains one of the most important and promising technologies in the industry today, and we believe the Commission's order will help ensure that VoIP lives up to its full potential." About Level 3 Communications Level 3 is an international communications and information services company. The company operates one of the largest Internet backbones in the world, is one of the largest providers of wholesale dial-up service to ISPs in North America and is the primary provider of Internet connectivity for millions of broadband subscribers, through its cable and DSL partners. The company offers a wide range of communications services over its 23,000-mile broadband fiber optic network including Internet Protocol (IP) services, broadband transport and infrastructure services, colocation services, and patented softswitch managed modem and voice services. Its Web address is http://www.level3.com/. The company offers information services through its subsidiaries, Software Spectrum and (i)Structure. For additional information, visit their respective Web sites at http://www.softwarespectrum.com/ and http://www.i-structure.com/. The Level 3 logo is a registered service mark of Level 3 Communications, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Level 3 services are offered by wholly owned subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc. Forward-Looking Statement Some of the statements made by Level 3 in this press release are forward-looking in nature. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Level 3 believes that its primary risk factors include, but are not limited to: developing new products and services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; increasing the volume of traffic on Level 3's network; overcoming the softness in the economy given its disproportionate effect on the telecommunications industry; integrating strategic acquisitions; attracting and retaining qualified management and other personnel; successfully completing commercial testing of new technology and information systems to support new products and services, including voice transmission services; ability to meet all of the terms and conditions of our debt obligations; overcoming Software Spectrum's reliance on financial incentives, volume discounts and marketing funds from software publishers; reducing downward pressure of Software Spectrum's margins as a result of the use of volume licensing and maintenance agreements; and reducing rate of price compression on certain of the Company's existing transport and IP services. 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 release should be evaluated in light of these important factors. Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990721/LVLTLOGOPRN Photo Desk, [email protected] Level 3 Communications, Inc. CONTACT: media, Josh Howell, +1-720-888-2517, or Arthur Hodges,+1-720-888-6184, or Jennifer Daumler, +1-720-888-3356, or investors, RobinGrey, +1-720-888-2518, or Sandra Curlander, +1-720-888-2501, all of Level 3 Web site: http://www.softwarespectrum.com/ Web site: http://www.i-structure.com/ Web site: http://www.level3.com/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]