Level 3 CDN Services Available to Federal Agencies over WITS 3 Contract

BROOMFIELD, Colo., Sept. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE:LVLT, news, filings) today announced it has added content delivery network (CDN) services to its offerings available to government agencies under the Washington Interagency Telecommunications System (WITS 3) contract. The WITS 3 contract vehicle provides negotiated prices for telecommunications services on behalf of all federal agencies operating within the National Capital Region (NCR).

As a cloud-based solution set, Level 3’s CDN services can assist federal agencies battling budget pressures by reducing infrastructure costs and better support growing demands for managing big data.

Agencies will also be better able to comply with mandates issued by the Office of Management and Budget(OMB). Mandates like the Cloud First Policy, which is geared toward transforming how agencies procure IT services by eliminating duplicative systems and applications, fragmented resources, and underutilized technology assets, by moving applications to the cloud. As a widely deployed distributed cloud of shared content-servers, Level 3’s CDN services can be implemented rapidly, enable more efficient use of resources and bring content closer to citizens.

The service additions also support compliance with the OMB’s Open Government Directive to advance the principles of transparency, participation and collaboration between the government and citizens. With Level 3’s CDN services — delivered over Level 3’s owned and operated network — agencies can enhance critical information-sharing tools like high-performing websites and video/audio streaming to achieve mandate objectives.

“As the only provider with its own CDN and IP backbone network, Level 3 enables agencies to deliver high-quality, high-bandwidth content – from video to large file libraries. Content is delivered to locations across the globe quickly, reliably and in a way that scales to meet unpredictable demand without the burden of owning costly infrastructure,” said Edward Morche, senior vice president of Level 3’s Government Markets Group. “The need for that kind of enhanced performance and speed to quickly react to our customers’ demands can keep agencies operating efficiently and transparently while taking full advantage of the benefits of cloud-based services over the WITS 3 contract.”

The CDN services Level 3 offers on WITS 3 include:

• Content Delivery
• Caching & Download
• Streaming Video
• Origin Storage
• Content Analytics
• 24/7 Support
• Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
• Geographic Intelligence
• Premium Content Analytics
• Intelligent Traffic Manager
• DNSSEC

Level 3’s interactive approach and expertise in scalable, proven and secure solutions has made it one of the top government communications providers as agencies increasingly look to streamline operations while maintaining the highest degree of security. Level 3’sGovernment Markets Groupis well-versed in the latest federal compliance and security requirements to provide the solutions agencies need to meet everyday IT and communications challenges.

For more information on how Level 3 supports government agencies, visit http://www.level3.com/en/solutions/industry/us-government/.

About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) provides local, national and global communications services to enterprise, government and carrier customers. Level 3’s comprehensive portfolio of secure, managed solutions includes fiber and infrastructure solutions; IP-based voice and data communications; wide-area Ethernet services; video and content distribution; data center and cloud-based solutions. Level 3 serves customers in more than 450 markets in 45 countries over a global services platform anchored by owned fiber networks on three continents and connected by extensive undersea facilities. For more information, please visit www.level3.com

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Forward-Looking Statement

Some statements made in this press release are forward-looking in nature and 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 Level 3’s control, which could cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements. Important factors that could prevent Level 3 from achieving its stated goals include, but are not limited to, the company’s ability to: successfully integrate the Global Crossing acquisition or otherwise realize the anticipated benefits thereof; manage risks associated with continued uncertainty in the global economy; obtain additional financing, particularly in the event of disruptions in the financial markets; manage continued or accelerated decreases in market pricing for communications services; maintain and increase traffic on its network; develop and maintain effective business support systems; manage system and network failures or disruptions; develop new services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; adapt to rapid technological changes that could adversely affect the company’s competitiveness; defend intellectual property and proprietary rights; obtain capacity for its network from other providers and interconnect its network with other networks on favorable terms; attract and retain qualified management and other personnel; successfully integrate future acquisitions; effectively manage political, legal, regulatory, foreign currency and other risks it is exposed to due to its substantial international operations; mitigate its exposure to contingent liabilities; and meet all of the terms and conditions of its 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.

SOURCELevel 3 Communications, Inc.