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Press Release -- March 12th, 2013
Source: Level 3 Communications
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Level 3 and FCC Agree on High Standards for Call Completion to Rural Areas

Company Supports FCC Action; Encourages Industry to Adopt Standards

Mar 12, 2013

BROOMFIELD, Colo., March 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE:LVLT, news, filings) today commented on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) statement concerning telephone call completion in rural America, and the agreement it has reached with the company to set rural call completion standards for the industry to follow.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111004/LA77008LOGO)

The FCC is currently conducting a comprehensive, industry wide review of telephone service being provided in rural areas following concerns raised about the quality of service to certain areas. The FCC review is focused on the performance of carriers and their management of the third party, downstream providers they all must use to complete certain telephone calls. As part of that review, the FCC made data requests of multiple providers across the industry, including Level 3. Level 3 welcomed the opportunity to work collaboratively with the FCC on this important issue, and is the first carrier in the industry to agree to telephone call quality standards it hopes the industry will follow. The Commission’s review of other carriers is continuing.

“Level 3 has advocated with the past three FCC Chairmen that the voice industry in the United States is in need of objective, clear and measurable standards applicable to all providers, and this agreement is a solid step in that direction,” said Michael Mooney, general counsel, Regulatory Policy for Level 3 Communications. “Level 3 fully supports the Commission’s mandate to improve telephone call quality in rural America, and to root out those in the industry responsible for any substandard phone service. We hope that the standards we have set with the Commission are adopted broadly across the industry so that call quality to rural America continues to improve.”

Study Ranks Level 3 as an Industry Leader in Rural Call Completion
In a study of 30 providers conducted by the National Exchange Carrier Association in April 2012, Level 3 was one of two carriers identified as having the best performance of the providers studied in terms of call completion to rural areas, with the lowest overall percentage of incomplete calls to rural destinations.

As one of the largest facilities-based voice providers in North America, Level 3 is able to complete approximately 90 percent of its total call minutes across the country over its own network facilities, enabling reliable, high quality call completion performance.

“Working with the FCC gave us an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to call quality by jointly establishing a standard set of practices and quality safeguards for the industry to follow,” said Shaun Andrews, Level 3’s senior vice president for Global Voice Services. “We are committed to ensuring that our high standards for operational excellence and customer experience are met, even by our third party suppliers. We believe that the establishment of these new standards with the FCC will be reassuring to rural consumers and to customers calling them. We hope that all other voice providers will follow our lead and commit to achieving similar high call performance standards.”

For more information on Level 3’s advanced network and service offerings, visit www.level3.com.

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 55 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

© Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Level 3, Level 3 Communications, Level (3) and  the Level 3 Logo either registered service marks or service marks of Level 3 Communications, LLC and/or one of its Affiliates in the United States and/or other countries.  Any other service names, product names, company names or logos included herein are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Level 3 services are provided by subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc.

Website Access to Company Information
Level 3 maintains a corporate website at www.level3.com, and you can find additional information about the company through the Investors pages on that website at http://lvlt.client.shareholder.com/.  Level 3 uses its website as a channel of distribution of important information about the company. Level 3 routinely posts financial and other important information regarding the company and its business, financial condition and operations on the Investor Relations web pages.

Visitors to the Investors Relations web pages can view and print copies of Level 3’s SEC filings, including periodic and current reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, as soon as reasonably practicable after those filings are made with the SEC.

Copies of the charters for each of the Audit, Compensation and Nominating and Governance committees of Level 3’s Board of Directors, its Corporate Governance Guidelines, Code of Ethics, press releases and analysts and investor conference presentations are all available through the Investor Relations web pages.

Please note that the information contained on any of Level 3’s web sites is not incorporated by reference in, or considered to be a part of, any document unless expressly incorporated by reference in that document.

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; maintain and increase traffic on its network; develop and maintain effective business support systems; manage system and network failures or disruptions; avert the breach of its network and computer system security measures; develop new services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; defend intellectual property and proprietary rights; manage the future expansion or adaptation of its network to remain competitive; manage continued or accelerated decreases in market pricing for communications services; 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.

Contact Information
Media: Investors:
Richard Larris Mark Stoutenberg
+1 973-937-0153 +1 720-888-2518
Richard.Larris@level3.com Mark.Stoutenberg@Level3.com

SOURCE Level 3 Communications, Inc.

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