CHICAGO -- NXTcomm -- Level 3 Communications Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) said today it has completed its Internet2 network services backbone, capable of 100-Gbit/s speeds. (See Level 3 Completes Network.) With this announcement, and plans to further expand its metro fiber network, Level 3 says its enterprise business is on the verge of exploding.

Level 3 Communications had been aggressively adding to its fiber capacity to reach enterprise customers through a series of acquisitions, including Telcove, ICG, and Progress Telecom. The company now says that is has the opportunity to increase its reach in metropolitan areas by about 20-fold.

Level 3 says its network reaches about 6,000 to 7,000 buildings today, with as many as 150,000 more buildings within close proximity of its network as well. "We're going to add about 750 to 1,000 of these buildings in 2007 alone, and that progress rate will increase," says senior VP of offer management Randy Dunbar.

For now, Dunbar says, the buildout will be done mainly through fiber installations by Level 3, as opposed to further acquisitions: "Right now we're still working to integrate our recent acquisitions into our network."

Level 3 was recently awarded a Networx Enterprise contract by the U.S. government, which should also bring in additional enterprise revenues for the company. "We were getting ready for Networx for two years and have always been big in government," says Dunbar.

— Raymond McConville, Reporter, Light Reading