The Dune Group Improves Global Online Retail Experience with Level 3's Solution

LONDON, April 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) today announced that it has been selected by The Dune Group, a major international retailer, to deliver enhanced Content Delivery Network (CDN) services to help improve the speed and efficiency of its online retail platforms and support the company's growth in markets outside of the U.K. 

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The Dune Group, a leading footwear and accessories retailer, is leveraging Level 3's Site Transformer, part of the Level 3 Web Acceleration product suite, to enhance the OMNI-channel retail environment. With these services, The Group will better manage significant increases in website traffic, even during seasonal peak demands, whilst maintaining a consistently high-quality customer experience.

"Customers are interacting with us through multiple digital channels whilst considering their purchase decisions, with online traffic increasing by over 30% on a like-for-like basis and online sales accounting for 20% of overall group revenue," said Jamie Ovenden, IT Director, The Dune Group. "Level 3's enhanced CDN solution delivers the capacity and speed we need to ensure an exceptional customer experience across what we see as a market leading, OMNI channel environment, and we're experiencing an improvement of around 50% in the speed of the site and a 4-times increase in capacity."

The Dune Group will use Level 3's Site Transformer to seamlessly transform its website performance and enable The Group to instantaneously render web pages and applications on desktops, mobiles and other devices.

Level 3's global CDN will also help The Dune Group to continue growing its customer base outside its core U.K. market. The level of the company's international customers has more than doubled over the last 12 months. With over 60 international points of sale and 30 stores outside of the EU the ability to accelerate digital content globally is a must.  

"Retailers have to think about how they engage with their customers at all stages of the buying journey, which means having a truly OMNI-channel approach, and The Dune Group realises that online is a critical element in that journey," said James Heard, Level 3 regional president of EMEA. "The Dune Group knows that its customers expect a high-quality experience when browsing and shopping from any online device and, with Level 3's services, they will be able to deliver that to their valued customers whilst also supporting growth into new global markets and addressing their online security concerns."

For more information on Level 3's advanced CDN services, visit www.level3.com.

About the Dune Group
The Dune Group is one of the most influential global players in fashion footwear and accessories.  Based in London, the fashion capital of the world, The Dune Group has over 20 years of experience in the footwear industry and has grown through a passion and dedication to excellence in product development and in-house design, and a commitment to providing outstanding customer service. The company has grown from a 20 square metre concession in a fashion store in Oxford Street, London, in 1992, to a group with 46 UK stores, 169 concessions in the major department stores such as Topshop, Topman, House of Fraser, John Lewis and Selfridges in the UK, and 35 franchised stores and concessions in 12 countries around the world. For more information, visit http://www.thedunegroup.com/

This information provided by The Dune Group which is solely responsible for its content.

About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) 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 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, visit www.level3.com.

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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.