Level 3

Level 3 Communications today announced that it has been named Heavy Reading’s 2007 Ethernet Service Provider of the Year for its portfolio of Ethernet services. Winners of the Ethernet Service Provider of the Year Awards were announced at Light Reading’s Ethernet Expo in New York City. Heavy Reading, an independent market research firm owned by Light Reading, provides quantitative analysis of telecom technology to carriers, service providers and vendors.

“Heavy Reading was most impressed by Level 3’s strategic commitment to leveraging Ethernet technology in its network,” said Stan Hubbard, senior analyst for Heavy Reading. “Level 3 is one of the largest operators in the United States to use Ethernet across core, metro and access portions of its network to improve network and service scalability, performance, flexibility and reach while controlling capital and operational cost. We recognize that Ethernet is a fundamental enabler of Level 3’s core network infrastructure as well as its service offerings.”

“We are honored to receive such recognition from Heavy Reading,” said Jeff Tench, senior vice president of Business Markets Group for Level 3 Communications. “Ethernet is rapidly becoming a preferred alternative for efficiently transporting converged enterprise services, high-bandwidth backbone applications, and numerous wholesale services. As a key element of our ongoing network evolution, Ethernet technology is core to Level 3’s global network and service vision, and we will continue to drive its strategic advancement.”

Level 3 offers one of the broadest and deepest Ethernet service portfolios in the industry—with flexible capabilities available from 1Mbps to 10Gbps. An early driver of Ethernet services, Level 3 implemented one of the first coast-coast GigE circuit in the industry in 2001, and deployed the first nationwide 10Gbps LAN PHY service in 2006. From a core IP transport perspective, Level 3 began pioneering Ethernet vs. SONET transport in 2004 and currently has trunks with as many as 16 10GE circuits.

Level 3 was honored by Heavy Reading for its Ethernet service portfolio which addresses a wide variety of customer needs including LAN-to-LAN connectivity, content delivery, Internet access, large file transfers/sharing (financial transactions, scientific data, engineering design and medical imaging), storage area networking (database replication and utility storage), and IP video (VOD, training and telepresence).

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, and 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.

XO Communications today announced that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware has ruled in favor of XO Communications’ complaint for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief preventing Level 3 from interfering with XO Communications’ business operations and directing Level 3 to specifically perform its duties and obligations under its fiber agreements with XO Communications.

Last year, XO Communications filed a complaint with the Court to force Level 3 to cooperate with XO Communications as it lit fiber acquired from Level 3. In its ruling on November 2, 2007, the Court determined that XO Communications has the unfettered right to light fiber it acquired from Level 3 and required Level 3 to provide XO Communications the power and access it needs in order to continue to light fiber for its own network use and use of third party customers.

“We are very pleased with the Court’s decision, which confirmed XO’s right to these facilities and Level 3’s obligations to provide services under the agreement,” said Carl Grivner, chief executive officer of XO Communications. “This decision will remove any uncertainty regarding XO’s rights to its fiber plant, and will spur the continued expansion in the capabilities of the XO nationwide fiber optic network. With rising demand for bandwidth by businesses and service providers, XO Communications is at the epicenter of today’s broadband boom, providing high-capacity network services to domestic and international telecom companies, cable companies, content providers and mobile wireless service providers.”

In 1998, the two companies entered into an agreement to collaboratively develop a fiber optics network. Level 3 was to lay the fiber network while XO Communications purchased an indefeasible right of use in part of that network. Subsequently through other related agreements, XO Communications also agreed to purchase wavelength services from Level 3. Level 3 argued that these related agreements stripped XO of its right to light the fiber it had acquired from Level 3. The court disagreed with Level 3’s position and determined that the subsequent agreements did not “in any way modify, alter, terminate, or suspend the rights XO acquired to light fiber it acquired from Level 3, or to provide, for its own purposes or to third parties, wavelength services utilizing such fiber.”