Cox Pix Level 3

BROOMFIELD, Colo. -- Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: LVLT - News) today announced it has signed an agreement to supply multiple optical wavelength services to Cox Communications.

Under the terms of the contract, Level 3 is providing Cox with 2.5-gigabit wavelengths that stretch from Rhode Island to California on a route that also connects to Level 3 facilities in Omaha and Las Vegas. Additionally, the (3)Link Global Wavelength services connect San Diego to Phoenix and Dallas to New Orleans.

"We selected Level 3 because of its network performance, ONTAP provisioning and network management tools, and cost efficiency," said Dick Mueller, vice president of Network Planning, Engineering & Operations for Cox. "Level 3 has proven to be a stable, reliable network services provider that has a history of exceeding our expectations. As a result, Level 3 has become a seamless and integral part of our business, as well as an important extension of our own network."

"As a Fortune 500 company serving more than six million customers nationwide, Cox is clearly one of the leading providers of multi-service broadband communications to residential and business customers," said Sureel Choksi, president of Transport and Infrastructure services for Level 3. "We're pleased that Cox has elected to use our transport services to interconnect multiple regional data centers across its backbone. We believe that our scalable network infrastructure and operational capabilities are ideally suited to provide our customers with the building blocks and tools they need to define and manage their own high capacity and reliable broadband networks."

Level 3 turned up the 2.5-gigabit wavelengths for Cox using ONTAP, Level 3's proprietary online customer network management and service provisioning system. ONTAP also enables customers to check Level 3's capacity inventory and prices, plan and order circuits, and manage their Level 3 network via a Web-based interface.

Wavelength services and network management tools from Level 3 offer Cox and other customers the ability to control and operate an international backbone network at a fraction of the up-front cost of building the network themselves. Moreover, procurement of wavelength services from Level 3 allows customers to expand network capacity cost effectively and quickly even when the immediate need for the added network capacity is unpredictable or uncertain. Level 3's ONTAP system enables customers to obtain delivery of on-net wavelength services within 10 days of ordering, allowing customers to upgrade their network very quickly on an as-needed basis.

Cox now utilizes a full suite of Level 3 services, including (3)CrossRoads Internet access, (3)Center Colocation, (3)Link Private Line, (3)Voice Termination and metropolitan dark fiber services.

Level 3 Communications Inc.

Cox Communications Inc.