Lacoste Optimizes Customer Service Capabilities Across Brazil

USA - English

• Latin America - español

SAO PAULO, Sept. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) today announced that it has signed an agreement with Lacoste's affiliate, Devanlay Ventures do Brasil Ltda., which manufactures and sells Lacoste products, such as clothing and accessories, in Brazil. Through the agreement, Level 3's virtual hosting, data storage and backup services will support Lacoste's organizational operations throughout Brazil. The company will also use Level 3's global MPLS (multiprotocol label switching) network, which includes voice, data and DIA (dedicated Internet access), between the company's headquarters in São Paulo and a network of 100 franchised stores.

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Through Level 3's virtual hosting services, Lacoste store employees will be able to manage sales and other company processes, such as product changes, consistently across all locations throughout the country. The company's data will also be hosted by Level 3's Latin American data center-based servers, accessible at any time by the company's financial team in its regional headquarters.

"Providing our customers with flexible and efficient service is key to our business success, and we rely on Level 3's services to help ensure the consistent availability and redundancy of our critical company information," said Paulo Teles, IT manager for Devanlay Ventures do Brasil Ltda.

Level 3 recently expanded its data center capacity in Latin America in response to increased customer demand, adding new hosting and storage capabilities and increasing service support to better enable the regional and global growth of its customers.

"Level 3's network solutions combine voice, video and data services over a secure global IP network, enabling us to offer a perfect blend of communications solutions to help companies streamline their organizational productivity and ultimately improve their customer experience," says Marcos Malfatti, senior vice president of Sales for Level 3 in Brazil. "We are delighted that Lacoste will be able to leverage Level 3's services to support their continued growth in Latin America and beyond."

Level 3 has more than 350 data center and colocation facilities worldwide, including assets in North America, Europe and Latin America. These facilities allow customers to expand their application resources quickly and to optimize their business continuity programs. Connectivity between sites is available through Level 3's 165,000 miles of metropolitan, undersea and intercity network routes in more than 55 countries.

For more information on Level 3's advanced network and service offerings, visit www.level3.com.

About Lacoste

The LACOSTE legend was born in 1933, when René Lacoste revolutionized mens' fashion replacing the classical woven fabric, long-sleeved and starched shirts on the courts, by what has now become the classic LACOSTE polo shirt. More than 75 years after its creation, LACOSTE has become a lifestyle brand which allies elegance and comfort. The LACOSTE art of living expresses itself today through a large collection of apparel for women, men and children, footwear, fragrances, leather goods, eyewear, watches, belts, home textiles, and fashion jewelry.

LACOSTE founds its success on the essential values of authenticity, performance, and elegance. The crocodile incarnates today the elegance of the champion, René Lacoste, as well as of his wife Simone Lacoste and their daughter Catherine Lacoste, both also champions, in everyday life as on the tennis courts and golf courses.

About Level 3 Communications

Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) is a Fortune 500 company that provides local, national and global communications services to enterprise, government and carrier customers. Level 3's comprehensive portfolio of secure, managed solutions includes fiber and infrastructure solutions; IP-based voice and data communications; wide-area Ethernet services; video and content distribution; data center and cloud-based solutions. Level 3 serves customers in more than 500markets in 55 countries over a global services platform anchored by owned fiber networks on three continents and connected by extensive undersea facilities. Level 3 services are provided by subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc. For more information, please visit www.level3.com or get to know us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Website Access to Company Information

Level 3 maintains a corporate website at www.level3.com, and you can find additional information about the company through the Investors pages on that website at http://investors.level3.com/investor-relations/default.aspx. Level 3 uses its website as a channel of distribution of important information about the company. Level 3 routinely posts financial and other important information regarding the company and its business, financial condition and operations on the Investor Relations web pages.

Visitors to the Investors Relations web pages can view and print copies of Level 3's SEC filings, including periodic and current reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, as soon as reasonably practicable after those filings are made with the SEC.

Copies of the charters for each of the Audit, Compensation and Nominating and Governance committees of Level 3's Board of Directors, its Corporate Governance Guidelines, Code of Ethics, press releases and analysts and investor conference presentations are all available through the Investor Relations web pages.

Please note that the information contained on any of Level 3's web sites is not incorporated by reference in, or considered to be a part of, any document unless expressly incorporated by reference in that document.

The information contained under the caption "About Lacoste" has been provided by Lacoste, which is solely responsible for its content.

Forward-Looking Statement

Some statements made in this press release are forward-looking in nature and are based on management's current expectations or beliefs. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside Level 3's control, which could cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements. Important factors that could prevent Level 3 from achieving its stated goals include, but are not limited to, the company's ability to: successfully integrate the Global Crossing acquisition or otherwise realize the anticipated benefits thereof; manage risks associated with continued uncertainty in the global economy; maintain and increase traffic on its network; develop and maintain effective business support systems; manage system and network failures or disruptions; avert the breach of its network and computer system security measures; develop new services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; defend intellectual property and proprietary rights; manage the future expansion or adaptation of its network to remain competitive; manage continued or accelerated decreases in market pricing for communications services; obtain capacity for its network from other providers and interconnect its network with other networks on favorable terms; attract and retain qualified management and other personnel; successfully integrate future acquisitions; effectively manage political, legal, regulatory, foreign currency and other risks it is exposed to due to its substantial international operations; mitigate its exposure to contingent liabilities; and meet all of the terms and conditions of its debt obligations. 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 press release should be evaluated in light of these important factors. Level 3 is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

SOURCE Level 3 Communications, Inc.