Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:LVLT) today announced that the company has completed deployment of a low-latency, fiber-optic network connection between New York and Chicago. The network expansion was deployed using the shortest-path routes and advanced electronics to enable high-speed transaction rates with very low transmission delays – a significant service level requirement for financial exchanges and other trading venues.

“Level 3 designed the low-latency route to support financial services customers as they continue to face intense competition and pressure to improve transaction cycle time,” said Paul Savill, senior vice president of product management for Level 3. “Dedicated routing from New York to Chicago offers Level 3 customers a low-latency advantage with network capacity available today to meet their real-time infrastructure needs.”

The new route offers aggregate bandwidth of multiple 40 Gigabits per second (Gbps) connections to accommodate growing traffic volume generated by hedge funds, investment brokers, financial exchanges and other market participants. Currently, more than 80 Gbps of live financial trading traffic is being carried over the new route.

“There is more to bandwidth services than delivering point-to-point connectivity at the lowest price,” said Erik Kreifeldt, senior analyst for TeleGeography. “With latency guarantees on the Chicago-New York route, Level 3 delivers valuable product differentiation to customers with stringent performance requirements.”

In addition to the recent network expansion, Level 3 has also collaborated with financial services customers to design custom, low-latency network services to select trading venues throughout North America and Europe. Level 3 offers direct connections to:

• 15 Financial Exchanges
• 15 Electronic Communications Networks
• Seven Market Data Centers

By connecting directly to these trading venues, Level 3 reduces network hops and improves routing efficiency to minimize latency for its customers. On-net connectivity to the Level 3 network allows customers greater flexibility to scale bandwidth up to 10 Gbps per second as trading volumes increase.

With approximately 53,000 long-haul fiber miles and 27,000 metro fiber miles, Level 3 operates one of the most extensive and diverse network footprints in the market. As a result, Level 3 offers multiple low-latency options for any given route.