Level 3 SIP Toll-Free Services Enable BT Conferencing in the US

BROOMFIELD, Colo., May 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Level 3 Communications, Inc. (LVLT) today announced it will support BT Conferencing in the United States under the terms of a two-year agreement. Level 3 will provide SIP Toll-Free Services over its Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) IP network, enabling BT Conferencing, a subsidiary of BT (British Telecommunications plc), to provide flexible solutions with improved reliability, security, scalability, and operational efficiency. This agreement builds upon the existing business relationship between the two companies.

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a signaling protocol widely used for controlling communication sessions such as voice and video conferencing, multimedia distribution, instant messaging, presence information, and file transfer. Level 3 SIP Toll-Free Service leverages Level 3’s Tier 1 network, and provides full-featured routing and control capabilities.

By migrating its TDM-based services onto Level 3’s end-to-end IP backbone network, BT will be able to take advantage of improved service delivery; simplified network management; network and operational expense savings; and the reliability, scalability and resilience of Level 3’s dedicated IP connections.

“We are looking forward to working with Level 3 in our ongoing commitment to provide improved services for businesses in the U.S.,” said Alan Tosh, Head of Access Management, BT Conferencing.

Level 3 has extensive global coverage, enabling competitive cost structures and new, efficient ways of managing voice traffic. BT Conferencing’s instant audio conferencing service, BT MeetMe, will benefit from Level 3’s true end-to-end IP networking with no IP-to-PSTN conversions, enhancing privacy, security and cost effectiveness.

“Level 3 and BT have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship that is greatly enhanced by this new agreement,” said Andrew Crouch, president of Level 3’s North America Region. “We truly value our relationship with BT and appreciate its ongoing trust in our global network’s reliability and performance.”

Level 3 leverages its extensive fiber-optic network, metro assets and a locally focused sales and sales support organization to deliver world-class voice, video and data solutions to enterprise customers and service providers throughout the United States.

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

About BT
BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in more than 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, BT Retail, BT Wholesale and Openreach.

In the year ended 31 March 2012, BT Group’s revenue was £18,897m with profit before taxation of £2,445m.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York. For more information, visit www.btplc.com

For further information
Enquiries about BT should be made to the BT Group Newsroom on its 24-hour number: 020 7356 5369. From outside the UK dial + 44 20 7356 5369. E-mail: newsroom@bt.com. All news releases can be accessed at our web site: http://www.bt.com/newscentre

This information provided by BT, which is solely responsible for its content.

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 500 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.

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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.