Level 3 Announces Wholesale Voice Agreement with Moviefone

HostReview.com
Wednesday, June 23, 2004; 12:00 AM

CHICAGO, Ill., June 23, 2004 – Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:LVLT) today announced that Moviefone, a property of America Online, has purchased wholesale voice services from Level 3. Level 3 made the announcement at SUPERCOMM 2004, an annual symposium that is produced and managed by the Telecommunications Industry Association.

Specifically, Moviefone (www.moviefone.com) has purchased Level 3’s (3)VoIPSM Local Inbound solution to enable Moviefone members in 35 U.S. markets to dial a local number to get access to movie listings, information, and ticketing anywhere in the country. Moviefone serves more than 10 million* unique users through Moviefone.com and more than 5 million moviegoers through the Moviefone phone service each month.

The services cover some 30,000 screens in more than 200 cities and are used by three in every 10 U.S. moviegoers across the country for the complete, free directory of movies, show times, theater locations, the ability to purchase tickets in advance, and original movie content, news, and reviews.

“We’re very pleased that Moviefone chose Level 3 to supply local phone numbers to its members,” said Sureel Choksi, president of Softswitch Services for Level 3. “Level 3’s wholesale VoIP offering enhances the economics of Moviefone’s business, and enables its members to have greater access to the content that has made Moviefone the most frequently used movie listing guide and ticketing service in the country.”

(3)VoIP Local Inbound service significantly reduces communications costs for carriers, call center operators, conferencing providers, and other service providers that require a reliable and geographically expansive local calling infrastructure. The service complements Level 3’s worldwide (3)Voice® Termination service and (3)VoIP Toll FreeSM, the company’s toll-free, nationwide calling solution.

The (3)VoIP Local Inbound service rides Level 3’s patented softswitch platform, which has successfully processed more than 300 billion minutes in calls since 1999. The service also utilizes Level 3’s extensive local networks, offering industry-leading geographic coverage.

“Our recent expansion of the (3)VoIP Local Inbound service to now offer local numbers in areas that reach more than 80 percent of the U.S. population makes this service an even more compelling offering,” said Kevin Dundon, senior vice president of Wholesale Voice Services for Level 3. “The addition of more than 225 markets gives Level 3 much broader geographic coverage, significantly enhancing our customers’ ability to cost-effectively deliver new and existing services for their end-user customers.”

The (3)VoIP Local Inbound service enables customers to:

• Establish an immediate local presence via the service’s recently expanded footprint covering more than 300 markets across the U.S.;
• Leverage the coverage and economics of the Internet;
• Design and deliver new applications quickly and cost-effectively;
• Streamline call flows.

Customers can use (3)VoIP Local Inbound service to leverage traditional telephone service capabilities while maintaining the control they need to create new products and services. With these services, customers can create and deliver applications faster, maximize call routing and back-end signaling efficiency, reduce maintenance and equipment costs, and increase their overall return on investment.

Level 3 is an industry pioneer in the development of VoIP technology and services. Today the company offers a broad suite of wholesale, business and residential IP-based voice solutions over a robust softswitch-based network platform that carries more than 25 billion minutes of IP-based calls every month.

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 22,500 mile broadband fiber optic network including Internet Protocol (IP) services, broadband transport and infrastructure services, colocation services, and patented Softswitch managed modem and voice services. Its Web address is www.Level3.com.

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

*ComScore Media Metrix, May 2004

The Level 3 logo and (3)Voice are registered service marks and (3)VoIP and (3)VoIP Toll Free are service marks of Level 3 Communications, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. (3)Voice and (3)VoIP services are offered by Level 3 Communications, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Level 3 Communications,

Forward Looking Statement
Some of the statements made by Level 3 in this press release are forward-looking in nature. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Level 3 believes that its primary risk factors include, but are not limited to: changes in the overall economy relating to, among other things, the September 11 attacks and subsequent events, substantial capital requirements; development of effective internal processes and systems; the ability to attract and retain high quality employees; technology; the number and size of competitors in its markets; law and regulatory policy; and the mix of products and services offered in the company's target markets. Additional information concerning these and other important factors can be found within Level 3’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this release should be evaluated in light of these important factors.