Level 3 Granted Softswitch Patent

BROOMFIELD, Colo. -- Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued to Level 3 a patent for the company's proprietary softswitch. Level 3 uses its softswitch to provide managed modem services to dial-up Internet service providers across the country. Patent Number 6,442,169, issued today and entitled "System and Method for Bypassing Data from Egress Facilities," grants Level 3 the exclusive right to use and license the intellectual property used in its managed modem service offering. Level 3 provides managed modem service to all of the major dial-up ISPs in the United States, including AOL, EarthLink, SBC Internet Services (formerly Prodigy), and United Online, handling more than 13 billion minutes of traffic per month. "We believe that the U.S. Government's issuance of the patent is further recognition of Level 3's founding role in creating and commercializing softswitch-based managed modem services," said Charles Meyers, senior vice president of Softswitch Services for Level 3. "The technology we have patented has been fundamental to our success in building one of the largest local exchange minutes carriers in the United States. In addition to our solid base of dial-up traffic, we are expanding our nationwide managed modem network to offer innovative and high-quality Voice-over-IP services leveraging our existing network investment." Level 3 Communications Inc.