LAS VEGAS, Nev., -- January 5, 2005 -- Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:LVLT) announced today that its operating subsidiary can now provide E-911-enabled Voice-over-IP (VoIP) services to areas encompassing approximately 60 million households nationwide. Level 3 made the announcement on the eve of the Consumer VoIP Summit being held in conjunction with the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Over the course of the past year, Level 3 has been deploying its E-911 VoIP solution in more than 300 markets across the country and plans to expand its E-911 coverage further throughout 2005. The E-911 solution, which is a foundational component of Level 3’s broad suite of VoIP services, enables ISPs, cable companies, local phone companies, long-distance providers and others to build E-911 functionality into the VoIP services they offer to enterprises and consumers.
“Adoption of VoIP in both business and residential markets is growing at exponential rates,” said Sureel Choksi, executive vice president of services for Level 3. “It is increasingly important that VoIP service providers be able to deliver E-911 in order to meet the demands of the market, as well as fulfill important public-safety needs. Level 3 made a significant investment in building its E-911 network platform for VoIP in 2004, and we believe that this capability is a key reason why leading communications companies are choosing Level 3 as their preferred provider of wholesale VoIP services.”
E-911 (for “Enhanced 911”) delivers address-specific information to public safety agencies whenever someone makes a 911 call, enabling first responders to be dispatched to the scene of an emergency even if the caller is unable to speak or if the call is suddenly disconnected. But delivering E-911 presents challenges with VoIP, because determining the location of the caller is difficult in an IP-based network transaction. Today, many VoIP service providers use so-called “10-digit routing” to deliver basic 911 capability to their customers. Although this method is relatively easy and low-cost to implement, it provides emergency responders with only a phone number and not the location of the person requiring assistance.
Level 3 has leveraged its existing nationwide network to interconnect with 911 Tandems and establish dedicated connections from its network to PSTN switches that serve Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) in over 1,500 rate centers around the country.
“In our view, mainstream consumers will not fully embrace Voice over IP as a replacement for the traditional land line unless they are confident that it will deliver the public-safety features they are accustomed to,” said Donna Lachance, senior vice president of Consumer Voice Services for Level 3. “We believe the E-911 capability we are embedding into the Level 3 network represents enormous progress in addressing this issue, and that it will serve as a real differentiator for Level 3 in the marketplace. We are committed to maintaining a leadership position in this area, and we look forward to expanding our E-911 footprint even further in the coming quarters.”
Level 3 has embedded E-911 functionality into its suite of business and residential VoIP offerings. For more information about Level 3’s business and consumer voice services, visit booth 71047I inside the Consumer VoIP Techzone at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, or visit http://www.level3.com/3184.html. Level 3 has also developed a position paper on E-911 and Voice over IP, available at http://www.level3.com/userimages/dotcom/pdf/Enhancing_911_White_Paper.pdf.
About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 (Nasdaq:LVLT) is an international communications and information services company. The company operates one of the largest Internet backbones in the world, is one of the largest providers of wholesale dial-up service to ISPs in North America and is the primary provider of Internet connectivity for millions of broadband subscribers, through its cable and DSL partners. The company offers a wide range of communications services over its 23,000-mile broadband fiber optic network including Internet Protocol (IP) services, broadband transport and infrastructure services, colocation services, and patented softswitch managed modem and voice services. Its Web address is www.Level3.com.
