Level 3 Named Ethernet Service Provider of the Year by Heavy Reading

Company Honored For Ethernet Portfolio; Advancing Next Generation Applications

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.