Level 3 Selected As Exclusive Network Provider For The Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania’s "Wall Street West"

¾ Level 3 Communications’ Business Markets Group today announced that it has been selected to be the exclusive network provider for Wall Street West, a Federal and Pennsylvania-funded initiative to provide back-up systems to New York City’s financial institutions. Wall Street West, a comprehensive program designed to attract financial services firms to northeastern Pennsylvania, will include network infrastructure and services between the two regions, a workforce development program, and other financial incentives.

Under the terms of the agreement between Level 3 Communications and Ben Franklin Technology Partners, fiscal agent for the Wall Street West initiative, Level 3 has been selected to construct a diverse fiber optic network from New York City to Northeastern Pennsylvania. The network will be designed to meet specific requirements for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery applications to protect critical financial information in the event of an outage in the New York City area. Network construction is targeted to begin over the next 12 months.

“The Wall Street West initiative provides a robust and unique alternative for financial institutions seeking to improve their disaster recovery model,” said Governor Edward G. Rendell, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. “Level 3 is a long-time and valued provider to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and we believe that Level 3’s involvement with Wall Street West enhances the benefits of this proposition.”

“Level 3’s advanced network provides the reliability and scalability necessary for real-time, secure back-up for mission critical applications,” said Chadwick Paul, CEO of Ben Franklin Technology Partners and member of the Wall Street West executive committee. “With its existing network depth and breadth in New York City and Pennsylvania, Level 3 will be able to bring these capabilities right to the customer’s doorstep.”

“We are pleased to be the network provider of choice for this important and innovative initiative,” said Raouf Abdel, president of Level 3’s Business Markets group. “Level 3 is committed to expanding our network infrastructure to better serve our customers. We believe that Level 3 and Wall Street West will greatly enhance the business continuity and disaster recovery options for our valued financial service customers.”

Wall Street West is a $40 million initiative involving a variety of federal, state and private funding sources, including a $15 million investment from the Federal government through the Workforce Innovation Regional Economic Development (WIRED) program.