Oct. 21, 2009 (Business Wire) -- Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) today announced that it is expanding operations and enhancing its local presence in the Chicago area. Through this commitment, Level 3 will combine its far-reaching network, metro assets, and a locally focused sales and customer support team to deliver an outstanding customer experience for Chicago mid-market enterprises.

“An increasing number of enterprises need a comprehensive communications solution and not just an a la carte selection of voice and Internet services,” said Michele O’Bryan, Level 3’s Chicago general manager. “Our local sales and customer support team is dedicated to demonstrating that Level 3’s combination of assets makes us the competitive alternative in an industry with a dwindling number of providers.”

Level 3 has an extensive fiber-optic footprint in the Chicago area – which includes Northwest Indiana and southern Wisconsin – that passes nearly 25,000 businesses. Level 3 is adding bandwidth to this network, and will continue to increase the number of businesses that are directly connected to the Level 3 network, enabling tremendous bandwidth scalability and reach of services for these businesses.

Level 3’s local sales and customer support team also will provide the expert counsel to help business customers navigate the evolving communications landscape. Enterprises are witnessing fundamental changes in the way employees use video and collaborative communications software; accordingly, IT organizations are centralizing the delivery of applications to increase efficiency and better facilitate business continuity and disaster recovery. Both trends drive opportunities for Level 3 to provide a competitive alternative for Chicago businesses and allow them to Link Globally and Connect Locally.

As part of this increased local focus, Level 3 is realigning its workforce in the Chicago area to create an exceptional service experience by leveraging local marketplace knowledge and creating greater familiarity with customers. The company also is redirecting support resources to focus specifically on the mid-market enterprise customer experience in the Chicago area.

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.

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