Level 3 Expands CDN Capacity in Asia Adding New Capabilities in China

By Anamika Singh

TMCnet Contributing Editor

 

Level 3 Communications (News - Alert), Inc. announced the expansion of its Content Delivery Network (CDN) capacity in Asia. The expansion will enhance Level 3's delivery capabilities in the Region by a factor of 10, the company claimed. New capabilities have been added in China to support the growing global demand.

 

"Content delivery in Asia is critical for our global business growth and we are pleased to continue working with Level 3 to meet this goal," stated Raj Patel, vice president of network systems and storage engineering for Yahoo!.

 

With this expansion, Level 3's content delivery footprint is expanded to countries like Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. The expanded CDN footprint will enable the company to offer premium end-user experience across the region.

 

"Level 3 offers the CDN features and functionality we need to provide audiences in Asia with the same high-performing, end-user experience that is standard for Yahoo! in more established markets," Raj Patel further added.

 

With this expansion Level 3 can now offer a global content delivery solution to its customers in North America and Europe. Additionally, the ability to store and deliver content from within Asia will help optimize content delivery for efficiency and performance, enabling content owners to provide a better end-user experience to their customers.

 

"As global demand for online video and other content continues to accelerate, the need to store and deliver content locally becomes increasingly important," said Grant van Rooyen, president of Level 3's Content Markets Group.

 

"The expansion of our CDN service capabilities in Asia reinforces Level 3's commitment to continue investing in our global CDN business and further establishes the company as the right content distribution partner for content owners, distributors and rights holders to meet the rapidly growing demands of their customer base."

 

Content delivery network space is getting increasingly competitive with Amazon recently announcing its intention to enter this market. Amazon is coming out with a simple, API-based CDN and will leverage its ready presence in North America, Europe and Asia.

 

Amazon has also promised to bring a level of transparency to a business that has a sales model much like a brokerage firm in the 1980s. Amazon wants to make buying CDN services as simple as buying a book. Amazon also intends publishing its prices on the web and charging its customers on usage basis instead of the long-term contracts current players foist on their clients. Currently, there are about two dozen content delivery network providers competing for the space.