Level 3 Advances Internet Video Delivery to the Standards of High-Definition TV Broadcasting

LONDON, September 10, 2009

Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:  LVLT) streamed many of this summer's most popular live events, such as the Tour de France and the Michael Jackson Memorial service, in quality rivaling that of HD television. In partnership with some of Europe's largest broadcasters, including France Télévisions, Italy's RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana and BSkyB, Level 3 made it possible for some of the world's most watched sporting events to be viewed live via the Internet for the first time.

May

  • Roland Garros (French Open) tennis tournament, in partnership with France Télévisions, Inlet Technologies and Microsoft, was the world's first public broadcast using Microsoft's IIS7 Live Smooth Streaming technology.

June

  • Italian Football during the FIFA Confederation Cup for RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana, Italy's national broadcaster, again using Live Smooth Streaming.

July

  • Tour de France, delivered for France Télévisions.
  • Michael Jackson Memorial service, incorporating Microsoft's IIS7 Smooth Streaming, for Sky News.
  • 13th FINA World Championship Swimming in Rome for both RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana and France Télévisions.

Aug.

  • Announced a multiyear relationship with Schibsted ASA, one of Scandinavia's largest media groups. Level 3 has been delivering live streaming of Norwegian Football League games since March.
  • 12th IAAF World Athletics (Track & Field) Championships in Berlin delivered for France Télévisions and RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana
  • Broadcast of the UEFA Super cup live and online for Canal+ incorporating Microsoft's IIS& Live Smooth Streaming

"It is important we offer our viewers and users the best possible experience, through whatever medium they choose," said Steve Bennedik, head of technology for Sky News. "The solution that Level 3 delivered to us for the Michael Jackson Memorial event, incorporating Microsoft's IIS7 Smooth Streaming, is another great step forward."

Level 3 will continue to work with some of the world's top media organizations to deliver HD quality streaming of online video for some of the most popular sports and entertainment events throughout the year. Upcoming broadcasts include championship series and regular season games for American football, baseball and hockey, and television and music industry awards programmes.

"We continue to see strong customer demand in our content services business and we have certainly had a busy summer for delivering live events online, both in Europe and North America," said James Heard, president of Level 3's European Markets Group. "We are delighted to support so many broadcasters, enabling the high quality delivery of these important events to their customers. Level 3's unique expertise in this area delivers growing value to the online broadcast of rich video content."

About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) is a leading international provider of fiber-based communications services. Level 3 services are provided by wholly-owned subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc.  Enterprise, content, wholesale and government customers rely on Level 3 to deliver services with an industry-leading combination of scalability and value over an end-to-end fiber network. Level 3 offers a portfolio of metro and long-haul services, including transport, data, Internet, content delivery and voice. For more information, visit www.Level3.com.

Forward-Looking Statement
Some of the statements made in this press release are forward looking in nature. These statements 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. The most important factors that could prevent Level 3 from achieving its stated goals include, but are not limited to, the current uncertainty in the global financial markets and the global economy; disruptions in the financial markets that could affect Level 3's ability to obtain additional financing; as well as the company's ability to: successfully integrate acquisitions; increase the volume of traffic on the network; defend intellectual property and proprietary rights; develop effective business support systems; manage system and network failures or disruptions; develop new services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; attract and retain qualified management and other personnel; and meet all of the terms and conditions of 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
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Hannah BrittMark Stoutenberg
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