Telefonica Selects Level 3 for North American Network

London (ots/PRNewswire) -

- Dedicated Network Provides Vital Communications Link for Over
250 Million European and Latin American Customers

- 10-Year Agreement Includes Largest Single Capacity Commitment
in Level 3 History

Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: LVLT) today announced that
the company has expanded its relationship with Telefonica
International Wholesale Services to establish a dedicated wavelength
network across North America, which represents the largest single
capacity commitment in Level 3 history.

"Level 3 offers an innovative and comprehensive transmission
network solution to support our increasing bandwidth demands in the
United States," said Jose Ramon Vela, CEO of Telefonica Wholesale.
"The Level 3 network provides the diversity, flexibility and scale
necessary to grow with our needs and continue operating with high
performance and greater efficiency across geographically diverse
areas."

Under the terms of the 10-year agreement, Level 3 will transport
voice, data and Internet traffic for over 250 million Telefonica
customers from Europe and Latin America. The dedicated wavelength
network includes triverse routes - with three alternative fiber paths
- between high-traffic locations and route diversity across the
remainder of the network.

Level 3 has dedicated bandwidth along each route for Telefonica
to expand with future demand growth. This design offers greater scale
and flexibility than a typical wavelength transaction with more route
diversity at a lower operating cost than building and operating a
stand alone fiber network. The solution provides many of the benefits
of network ownership, while leveraging the economics and simplicity
of Level 3's shared infrastructure.

"Level 3 continues to be a committed network partner for
Telefonica and we are pleased to reach a new capacity milestone in
delivering this solution for them," said James Heard, president of
Level 3's European Markets Group. "The extensive reach of our
network across North America provides the redundancy and scale
necessary to support the demands of Telefonica's global
communications business today and into the future."

About Telefonica International Wholesale Services

Telefonica International Wholesale Services is the organization
within the Telefonica Group which provides global Telecommunication
services for fixed and mobile carriers, ISPs and content providers.

The portfolio, includes International Voice, Capacity, IP
Interconnection, Satellite, Corporate and Mobility services, offering
direct connectivity between Latin America, US and Europe through its
fiber optic international network. Its extensive fiber optic network
and its TIER 1 IP Backbone, with POPs in over 40 countries, carries
over 20 billion of international minutes yearly through its NGN
network.

Telefonica Wholesale offers customers a specific and tailored
care service as well as a wide range of services to support all their
international needs. For more information, please visit
www.telefonica.com/carrierservices

About Telefonica

Telefonica is one of the largest telecommunications companies in
the world in terms of market capitalisation. Its activities are
centered mainly on the fixed and mobile telephony businesses with
broadband as the key tool for the development of both.

The company has a significant presence in 25 countries and a
customer base that amounts to 259 million accesses around the world.
Telefonica has a strong presence in Spain, Europe and Latin America,
where the company focuses an important part of its growth strategy.

Telefonica is a 100% listed company, with more than 1.5 million
direct shareholders. Its share capital currently comprises
4,704,996,485 ordinary shares traded on the Spanish Stock Market
(Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia) and on those in London,
Tokyo, New York, Lima, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo.

About Level 3 Communications

Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) is a leading
international provider of fiber-based communications services.
Enterprise, content, wholesale and government customers rely on Level
3 to deliver services with an industry-leading combination of
scalability and value over an end-to-end fiber network. Level 3
offers a portfolio of metro and long-haul services, including
transport, data, Internet, content delivery and voice. For more
information, visit www.Level3.com.

Level 3 Communications, Level 3, the red 3D brackets and the
Level 3 Communications logo are registered service marks of Level 3
Communications, LLC and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or
other countries. Level 3 services are provided by wholly owned
subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc. Any other service,
product or company names recited herein are trademarks or service
marks of their respective owners.

Forward-Looking Statement

Some of the statements made in this press release are forward
looking in nature. These statements 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. The most 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
acquisitions; increase the volume of traffic on the network; defend
intellectual property and proprietary rights; develop new products
and services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable
margins; successfully complete commercial testing of new technology
and information systems to support new products and services; attract
and retain qualified management and other personnel; and meet all of
the terms and conditions of 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.

ots Originaltext: Level 3 Communications, Inc.
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Media - North America, Kimberly Tulp, +1-720-888-3675, or Media -
Europe, Hannah Britt, +44-20-7954-5100, or Investors, Mark
Stoutenberg, +1-720-888-2518, all of Level 3 Communications, Inc.; or
Telefonica, prensa@telefonica.es / PHOTO:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990721/LVLTLOGO