Backbone Directory: Level 3

With one of the world's largest Internet backbones, Level 3's customers include 8 of the 10 largest U.S. ISPs and 8 of the 10 largest European telecom carriers.

by Jeff Goldman [April 4, 2007]

Level 3 Communications, Inc. was founded in 1985 as Kiewit Diversified Group (KDG), a wholly owned subsidiary of the 114-year old construction, mining, information services and communications company Peter Kiewit Sons.

In 1998, KDG changed its name to Level 3 Communications, Inc. and became an independent corporation. On April 1st of that year, Level 3 started trading on the NASDAQ as LVLT.

Level 3 has spent the past few years on something of a buying spree—the company acquired the assets of Genuity in 2003, and bought both Sprint's wholesale dialup business and ICG's wholesale dialup business in 2004. In 2005, the company acquired WilTel, and in 2006 it bought ICG and Progress Telecom, as well as TelCove, Looking Glass Networks, and Broadwing.

Level 3's network now spans more than 47,000 intercity route miles, and reaches customers in major markets throughout the United States and Europe. The network serves a wide range of clients including inter-exchange carriers, local phone companies, European PTTs, cable operators, ISPs, wireless companies, content providers, and media and entertainment companies.

The network serves 230 on-net markets—200 in the U.S. and 30 in Europe. It also delivers softswitch platform coverage to more than 93 percent of the U.S. population, and voice services to rate centers serving more than 80 percent of U.S. households.

Level 3 also operates 78 data centers across the U.S. and Europe with the following design features:

• Multi-layer security control procedures, biometric readers, and 24/7 video and alarm monitoring;
• Uninterruptible redundant AC and DC power solutions that are flexible and upgradeable;
• HVAC-redundant design with air distribution under raised flooring;
• Smoke detection systems above and below raised flooring;
• Double-interlock, pre-action, dry-pipe fire suppression;
• Overhead cable management and ladder racking to provide easy access to all cabling

The company's North American network is linked to Europe via Yellow, a transatlantic cable system built by Level 3 and activated in November of 2000. Yellow covers a distance of almost 4,000 miles, linking the town of Bude in the United Kingdom to Long Island, New York. The cable's capacity is currently 320 Gbps, but is upgradeable to 640 Gbps. Level 3 also has capacity on AC-1, the Apollo North and the Apollo South cables.

In April of 2000, the Smithsonian Institution cited Level 3 as a Computerworld Smithsonian Laureate, calling it "the world's first upgradeable international fiber optic network to be completely optimized for Internet Protocol technology… helping to stimulate the biggest change in communications technology in 100 years." A case study of the network is now archived in the Smithsonian's permanent research collection.

Network statistics:

• more than 47,000 intercity route miles
• more than 25,000 metropolitan route miles
• more than 230 on-net markets
• more than 1,700,000 miles of metro fiber

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Corporate Contact Info:

	Executive:	James Q. Crowe, CEO
	Headquarters:	1025 Eldorado Boulevard, Broomfield, CO 80021
	Voice:	720-888-1000
	Acceptable Use Policy:	http://level3.com/legal/acceptable_use_policy.html
	Sales:	877-2LEVEL3 or http://www.level3.com/ mail/productleads.html
	Investor Relations:	720-888-2502
	Online Customer Service:	https://olcsc.level3.com/
	NOC:	http://level3.com/customer_center/ network_operations/index.html
	Network metrics:	http://level3.com/about_us/technology_leadership/ aboutlevel3network/network_metrics.html/
	Network Security:	http://level3.com/customer_center/ network_security/index.html
	Billing Inquiries:	http://level3.com/customer_center/billing/index.html
	Newsroom:	http://level3.com/newsroom/index.html
	Financial:	NASDAQ: LVLT