Five-year Agreement Valued at Approximately $30 million
BROOMFIELD, Colo., August 3, 2000 – Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:LVLT) today announced it will receive approximately $30 million in a five-year network services agreement with Compass Telecommunications, Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, Level 3, a broadband infrastructure company, will sell Compass a variety of network services, including dedicated Internet access, private lines and managed modem services.
Compass, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., is a facilities-based integrated communications provider offering telephony network and broadband connectivity for communications services, including voice, data and video. Level 3's dedicated Internet access service allows customers to connect to the public Internet via the company's private high-speed lines.
Managed modem gives customers the ability to provide dial-up connections to the Internet or corporate networks without having to incur the cost of building and maintaining their own dial-up modem infrastructure. Private lines are dedicated amounts of bandwidth connecting two fixed locations. "All three of these services are part of the growing portfolio of products and services offered by Level 3," said Elizabeth Vanneste, Level 3 senior vice president of sales and marketing. "For instance, managed modem, launched in 1998, now processes more than four billion minutes every month. It was the first of our services to use the Softswitch technology pioneered by Level 3, enabling Level 3 to provide services that combine the best features of the Internet and traditional telephone networks. We're looking forward to working with Compass as they begin delivering the benefits of our network to end users in markets throughout the country."
(*Softswitches are advanced software based switching systems that enable Level 3 to provide services combining the best features of the Internet and traditional telephone networks.)
About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT), an international communications company, operates one of the largest Internet backbones in the world, connecting 180 markets in 18 countries. The company serves a broad range of wholesale, enterprise and content customers with a comprehensive suite of services including: Internet Protocol (IP) services, broadband transport and infrastructure services, colocation services, voice and voice over IP services, content delivery and media distribution services. These services provide the building blocks to enable Level 3’s customers to meet their growing demands for advanced communications solutions. The company’s Web address is www.Level3.com.
"Level 3 Communications,” "Level 3," the red 3D brackets and the Level 3 Communications logo are registered service marks of Level 3 Communications, LLC in the United States and/or other countries. Level 3 services are provided by wholly owned subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc. Any other service, product or company names recited herein may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statement
Some of the statements that we make 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 our control, which could cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements. The most important factors that could prevent us from achieving our stated goals include, but are not limited to our ability to: successfully integrate acquisitions; increase the volume of traffic on our network; defend our intellectual property and proprietary rights; develop new products and services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; successfully complete commercial testing of new technology and information systems to support new products and services; attract and retain qualified management and other personnel; and meet all of the terms and conditions of our 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.
