Level 3 Providing Detroit Metro Fiber to Sprint

Carrier Reducing Network Costs with Local Fiber from Level 3

HostReview.com
Wednesday, November 12, 2003; 12:00 AM

BROOMFIELD, Colo., November 12, 2003 - Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: LVLT) today announced it has executed an agreement to sell metropolitan dark fiber services in Detroit to Sprint (NYSE: FON, PCS), one of the world's largest communications companies.

Sprint is using Level 3 metropolitan fiber to eliminate the access transport charges it would otherwise pay to a local exchange carrier. Level 3's metro fiber connects key traffic aggregation points in the Detroit market, including ILEC central offices and voice switching sites. When the fiber is lit, carrier customers like Sprint can hand off traffic directly to local phone companies, without having to lease expensive access circuits at retail rates.

"Our carrier customers can significantly reduce local network expenses by taking advantage of Level 3's metro dark fiber product," said Sureel Choksi, Level 3's president of transport and infrastructure services. "In addition, the fiber allows them to expand local network capacity in the future at a significantly lower unit cost. We are pleased to be working with Sprint, one of the world's largest and best-known communications companies, and look forward to supporting them as they deliver high-quality voice and data services to their own business and residential customers."

The deployment of the Detroit area network is part of a nationwide Sprint initiative to broaden the company's local transport infrastructure into metropolitan areas across the United States. Sprint has announced plans to deliver the capabilities of its all-digital, fiber-optic network deeper into the metro areas of more than 30 U.S. cities before mid-2004.

Level 3 owns and operates a total of 36 metropolitan networks - 27 across the United States and nine in Europe, giving customers access to more than 350 data centers, central offices, telecom hotels and other buildings. Level 3 dark fiber services give carriers and service providers the infrastructure required to deploy a fiber-optic network in these markets without the burden and cost of network construction.

Level 3's fiber service includes optical fiber cable, colocation and running line facility space, power, and operation and maintenance of the network.

About Sprint
Sprint is a global integrated communications provider serving more than 26 million customers in over 100 countries. With approximately 70,000 employees worldwide and nearly $27 billion in annual revenues, Sprint is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying state-of-the-art network technologies, including the United States' first nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic network and an award-winning Tier 1 Internet backbone. Sprint provides local communications services in 39 states and the District of Columbia and operates the largest 100-percent digital, nationwide PCS wireless network in the United States. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.

About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 (Nasdaq:LVLT) is an international communications and information services company. The company operates one of the largest Internet backbones in the world, is one of the largest providers of wholesale dial-up service to ISPs in North America and is the primary provider of Internet connectivity for millions of broadband subscribers, through its cable and DSL partners. The company offers a wide range of communications services over its broadband fiber optic network including Internet Protocol (IP) services, broadband transport, colocation services, Genuity managed services, and patented Softswitch-based managed modem and voice services. Its Web address is www.Level3.com.

The company offers information services through its subsidiaries, (i)Structure and Software Spectrum. For additional information, visit their respective Web sites at www.softwarespectrum.com and www.i-structure.com.