Level 3 Wins 2014 MEF Ethernet Excellence Awards in Four Categories

Awards include "Retail Service Provider of the Year" and "Wholesale Service Provider of the Year"

News provided by

Jan 05, 2015, 08:00 ET

BROOMFIELD, Colo., Jan. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Level 3 Communications, Inc., (NYSE: LVLT) today announced it has been honored with the MEF Ethernet Excellence Awards in four categories. The MEF Ethernet Excellence Awards recognize services, technology, professional excellence and innovation in the worldwide Carrier Ethernet community.

These awards are presented annually to companies servicing North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and in the Caribbean and Latin America region, and are determined by a judging panel comprised of global and regional senior analysts from IDC, Infonetics, Vertical Systems, Gartner, Frost & Sullivan, Ovum, the Rayno Report and independent judges.

Level 3 took home the "Retail Service Provider of the Year" award for the Global, CALA and North American regions, as well as the "Wholesale Service Provider of the Year" award for North America. "Retail Service Provider of the Year" is given to the provider that best implements CE 2.0 retail services and other retail services, while "Wholesale Provider of the Year" is awarded to the provider that best implements Carrier Ethernet Access Services.

"We'd like to extend our congratulations to Level 3, which has continued to demonstrate a commitment to providing high-quality carrier Ethernet services to an increasing number of customers around the world," said Nan Chen, president of the MEF. "More and more enterprises are realizing the value of a strong Ethernet infrastructure, and Level 3 is delivering that important infrastructure on a global scale. Level 3 also leads the world with 275 MEF Carrier Ethernet Certified Professionals in its organization."

"Level 3 is proud to be recognized for our commitment to provide our customers with the global Ethernet reach and service options they need to best meet their communications needs," said Anthony Christie, chief marketing officer for Level 3. "We have a dedicated team of experts who develop business-critical network solutions for our enterprise customers, helping them grow their businesses faster in a secure and efficient networking environment."

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

About the MEF
The MEF is the defining body and driving force behind the global market for Carrier Ethernet services and technologies. MEF's flagship work is CE 2.0, including specifications, operational frameworks, and certification programs for services, equipment, and professionals (MEF-CECP 2.0). An industry alliance consisting of more than 220 member organizations, the MEF operates through a powerful collaborative framework of service providers, network solutions suppliers, and other stakeholders to achieve its CE 2.0 development and globalization objectives.

Building on thirteen years of success and widespread adoption of CE 2.0, MEF is now focused on defining LSO (Lifecycle Service Orchestration) with APIs for existing network, NFV, and SDN implementations, enabling more agile, assured, and orchestrated services over more efficient, automated networks. The MEF's vision for the transformation of network connectivity services and the networks used to deliver them is referred to as the "Third Network," which combines the on-demand agility and ubiquity of the Internet with the performance and security assurances of CE 2.0. For information on the Third Network Vision, based on Network as a Service principles, download the MEF Third Network Vision & Strategy White Paper. For more information about the MEF, please visit www.MetroEthernetForum.org

This information is provided by the MEF, which is solely responsible for its content.

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 500 markets in over 60 countries across a global services platform anchored by owned fiber networks on three continents and connected by extensive undersea facilities. For more information, please visit www.level3.com or get to know us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

© Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Level 3, Level 3 Communications, Level (3) and the Level 3 Logo are either registered service marks or service marks of Level 3 Communications, LLC and/or one of its Affiliates in the United States and elsewhere. Any other service names, product names, company names or logos included herein are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Level 3 services are provided by subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc.

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 tw telecom acquisition; manage risks associated with continued uncertainty in the global economy; increase revenue from its services to realize its targets for financial and operating performance; 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; manage the future expansion or adaptation of its network to remain competitive; defend intellectual property and proprietary rights; 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.