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Level 3 Expands Availability of Wholesale VoIP Service BROOMFIELD, Colo., May 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Level 3 Communications, Inc. today announced that the availability of its (3)VoIP Local Inbound service will be expanded from 73 U.S. markets to more than 300 U.S. markets by the end of June."Level 3 has the most experience and expertise in the industry in originating, transporting and terminating IP-based telephone calls," said Kevin Dundon, senior vice president of Wholesale Voice Services for Level 3. "Since January 2004, (3)VoIP Local Inbound traffic has been increasing at an average monthly rate of approximately 30 percent. The expansion we announced today gives Level 3 much broader geographic coverage that significantly enhances our customers' ability to cost-effectively develop and deliver new and existing services for their end-user customers." The expansion of (3)VoIP Local Inbound service enables more than 80 percent of the U.S. population to have local dialing access to Level 3's customer base. Level 3 will receive calls that typically originate on the traditional telephone network and convert them to Internet Protocol for delivery to the customer's IP address. Customers can use (3)VoIP Local Inbound and (3)VoIP Toll Free services to leverage traditional telephone service capabilities while maintaining the control they need to create new products and services. With these services, customers can create and deliver applications faster, maximize call routing and back-end signaling efficiency, reduce maintenance and equipment costs, and increase their overall return on investment. "(3)VoIP Local Inbound teams with (3)VoIP Toll Free to provide local and nationwide call-origination options," said Gordon Boyes, vice president of Wholesale Voice Services for Level 3. "Customers can leverage the power, scope and economics of IP networks by converting PSTN calls into IP and directing them across Level 3's MPLS-enabled backbone for delivery to their own IP end- points." (3)VoIP Local Inbound service -- and its complementary (3)VoIP Toll Free service -- ride Level 3's softswitch platform, which is one of the largest in the world. The (3)VoIP Local Inbound service enables customers to: * Establish an immediate local presence in more than 300 markets across the United States; * Leverage the coverage and economics of the Internet; * Design and deliver new applications quickly and cost-effectively; * Streamline call flows. (3)Voice Termination Service (3)Voice Termination service, originally launched in December 1999, enables foreign and U.S. carriers, inter-exchange carriers, enhanced service providers, cable operators and other companies to terminate calls in the U.S. and abroad. (3)Voice Termination was the world's first long-distance voice service that offered customers voice quality indistinguishable from traditional telephone networks, but with the efficiencies and inherent cost advantages of IP. "Level 3's voice termination business has increased approximately 40 percent since the beginning of this year," said Frank de Bloois, vice president of (3)Voice Termination services for Level 3. "We believe the significant growth we're seeing is attributable to the quality and reliability of our IP network, and the cost-efficiencies and broad geographic coverage that our softswitch-based VoIP platform delivers." In December 2003, Level 3 significantly expanded its softswitch-based (3)Voice Termination service by enabling customers to hand off traffic directly to Level 3 using an IP interface, further lowering their fixed network costs and capital expenses. Level 3's expanded voice capability allows IP-to-IP interconnection with the Level 3 network at the high levels of security required for voice traffic. For more information about (3)VoIP Local Inbound and Level 3's full suite of wholesale voice services, please visit http://www.level3.com/2192.html. 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 22,500 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 and (3)Voice are registered service marks, and (3)VoIP and (3)VoIP Toll Free are service marks of Level 3 Communications, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. (3)Voice, (3)VoIP and (3)VoIP Toll Free services are provided by Level 3 Communications, LLC. 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: changes in the overall economy relating to, among other things, the September 11 attacks and subsequent events, substantial capital requirements; development of effective internal processes and systems; the ability to attract and retain high quality employees; technology; the number and size of competitors in its markets; law and regulatory policy; and the mix of products and services offered in the company's target markets. 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/LVLTLOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, [email protected] Level 3 Communications, Inc. CONTACT: Media, Josh Howell, +1-720-888-2517, or Paul Lonnegren,+1-720-888-6099, or Investors, Robin Grey, +1-720-888-2518, or SandraCurlander, +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/2192.htmlhttp://www.level3.com/ |