Level 3

Pizza Hut adopts VoIP

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:59:56 -0400

Pizza Hut VoIPs, according to details obtained by Tom Keating of TMCNet. The phone-centric business is said to be the largest pizza chain in the world, with 34,000 outlets, according to the company.

Keating says pizza joints typically maintained three analog phone lines. With VoIP, only one analog line is needed for backup, while call capacity is theoretically unlimited. The franchise is reported to have deployed hosted VoIP on a Level 3 platform, and correlative VoIP agents that prevent callers from getting a busy signal during peak times.

Keating's repeated entreaties for a comment from Pizza Hut were eventually answered with a "no comment" type of statement. He speculates as to why Pizza Hut would keep its VoIP plans under the radar, but it could very well be a substantial cultural shift for callers to get an automated voice menu rather than a squeaky-voiced teen-ager on the phone to take orders. From an operational perspective, however, VoIP is a natural for the pizza delivery business.

For More
- Tom Keating has details on VoIP and pizza here

Related Article
Business takes to VoIP Report

Press Release: Level 3 Announces VoIP Deployment for Lavalife

Thu, 22 Mar 2007 09:04:52 -0400

Level 3 Announces VoIP Deployment for Lavalife

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 20, 2007 - Level 3 Communicationsâ€™ Wholesale Markets Group today announced that it has deployed an innovative, first-of-its-kind combination of services, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solution for Lavalife Corp., a leading provider of products and services designed for singles.
The solution Level 3 designed for Lavalife comprises a robust combination of Level 3Â® Local Inbound Service, Level 3 Toll Free Service, Level 3 International Termination Service, Level 3 Colocation Service, and Level 3 High Speed IP service. Lavalife and Level 3 collaborated to implement a solution that could provide significant operational cost savings and quickly and effectively manage Lavalifeâ€™s localized promotions.

The solution results in increased efficiencies for Lavalife and gives the company the opportunity to grow into new markets â€” all with the ease of doing business with one company. The solution has already helped Lavalife save significant costs on telephone-related equipment and production hardware by replacing Lavalifeâ€™s TDM-based infrastructure across 40 cities with Level 3â€™s IP services technology. Lavalife is anticipating considerable annual maintenance cost savings resulting from the implementation of this solution.

â€œWe are very pleased with the VoIP solution that we have been able to develop and operate in conjunction with Level 3,â€ said Marina Glogovac, chief executive officer for Lavalife. â€œBy converting millions of minutes of Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Personals traffic from legacy telecommunications infrastructures to VoIP and processing them centrally, we have reduced costs and improved efficiencies in a number of categories.â€

â€œLavalife is a forward-thinking company using powerful technology to solve its real world business problems,â€ said Myrle McNeal, senior vice president of Voice Service Provider markets for Level 3. â€œWe are proud to provide Lavalife with the solutions and support they need to quickly and nimbly enter new markets and continue to grow their business into the future.â€

All of Level 3â€™s VoIP services are delivered over the Level 3 voice network, which is engineered and maintained to meet the needs of the worldâ€™s largest, most demanding service providers. This solution supported by the Level 3 network is another example of how VoIP is enabling new and emerging applications that are fueling the growth of the wholesale marketplace.

Lavalife, a Toronto, Ontario based company, recently received the Silver Award of Excellence for Innovation for this innovative solutions from Canadian Information Productivity Award (CIPA), Canadaâ€™s oldest and largest awards program in the field of information technology.

About Lavalife
Lavalife is ranked the #1 dating site in Canada* and is ranked among the top 10 worldwide dating sites.** A leading provider of products and services designed for singles, Lavalife connects, engages and entertains through a variety of web, voice and mobile offerings. Founded in 1987, Lavalife Corp. markets its products and services across the United States, Canada and Australia and allows its members anytime, anywhere access to like-minded individuals. Lavalife's open-minded approach to dating allows singles to choose how they want to "click" by offering three unique communities: dating, relationships and intimate encounters. Lavalife has attracted millions of unique members who exchange 1.3 million messages every day. For more information, visit www.lavalife.com/corp or www.lavalife.com/mediaroom .

* Source: Combination of comScore Media Metrix and Lavalife. Lavalife estimates that it ranks #1 in Canada when publicly quoted statistics are adjusted to reflect traffic assigned to other web sites.

** Source: Combination of comScore Media Metrix and Lavalife. Lavalife

The statements and information contained under the caption â€œAbout Lavalifeâ€ were provided by Lavalife, and Level 3 is not responsible for the content of those statements.

About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: LVLT), an international communications company, operates one of the largest Internet backbones in the world. Through its customers, Level 3 is the primary provider of Internet connectivity for millions of broadband subscribers. The company provides a comprehensive suite of services over its broadband fiber optic network including Internet Protocol (IP) services, broadband transport and infrastructure services, colocation services, voice services and voice over IP services. These services provide building blocks that enable Level 3â€™s customers to meet their growing demands for advanced communications solutions. The companyâ€™s Web address is http://www.level3.com/.

Level 3 satellite video delivery and advertising distribution solutions through its subsidiary, Vyvx. For additional information, visit the Web site www.vyvx.com.

"Level 3 Communications,â€ "Level 3" and the Level 3 Communications logo are registered service marks of Level 3 Communications, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Any other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. Level 3 services are provided by wholly owned subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statement
Some of the statements made by Level 3 in this press release are forward-looking in nature. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Level 3 believes that its primary risk factors include, but are not limited to: increasing the volume of traffic on Level 3's network; developing new products and services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; successfully completing commercial testing of new technology and information systems to support new products and services, including voice transmission services; stabilizing or reducing the rate of price compression on certain of our communications services; integrating strategic acquisitions; attracting and retaining qualified management and other personnel; and the ability to meet all of the terms and conditions of our debt obligations. Additional information concerning these and other important factors can be found within Level 3â€™s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this release should be evaluated in light of these important factors.

Level 3 restructures its debt

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 19:01:34 -0500

Level 3 is raising money. It just went to the bond market to borrow $650 million at 9.25 percent interest, a sum that's in addition to another bond offering back in October. A lot of the cash (though the company doesn't say exactly how much) is going to pay off 10.75 percent loans--not unlike paying off a higher-interest credit card with a lower-interest one. The rest of the money will go to build networks or acquire other ones.

For more information about the Level 3 bonds:
- read this article in The Hosting News

Related Articles:
Level 3 powers EarthLink consumer VoIP. Report
Level 3 acquiring ICG for $163M. Report

SPOTLIGHT: Level 3 buys Broadwing

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 20:01:33 -0400

Time Warner isn't the only carrier with financial news. Level 3 spent more than $1.5 billion in cash and stock to buy fellow carrier Broadwing. Article

Level 3 buys TelCove; Is it MFS II?

Mon, 01 May 2006 20:01:38 -0400

Oracle is not the only one on an acquisition spree. After buying WilTel ($700 million), Progress Telecom ($68.5 million, pending) and ICG Communications ($163 million, pending) over the past six months, Level 3 has announced another acquisition. It is buying Pennsylvania-based TelCove, a facilities-based provider of metropolitan and regional communications services, for $1.24 billion. Level 3 is placing its bets on the bandwidth intensive enterprise and hopes to expand its network into the eastern metro U.S. markets. Combining these buys with its own setup, Level 3 has also formed Level 3 Metro Services as a separate business unit. (This may explain why Level 3 was collecting interest levels from its CTIA booth visitors on metro/regional networks.)

This sounds a lot like MFS Communications, part two, in the making. Remember the local network access facilities provider that changed its business model, returned from bankruptcy and was later sold to MCI for $14 billion in 1996? Level 3 has about $6 billion in long-term debt and is not profitable. In the first quarter of 2006, Level 3 reported revenue of $1.3 billion and a loss of $168 million. To top it off, the Level 3 management team on yesterday's conference call--CEO Jim Crowe, Vice Chairman Charles Miller, COO Kevin O'Hara, CFO Sunit Patel and Level 3 Wholesale VoIP Services SVP Kevin Dundon, who will lead the Level 3 Metro Services--have been involved in the metro business for some time now. "We are familiar with this business in our bones and we are comfortable with it," said Crowe. I am sure many of us will watch if Level 3 reaches higher levels with its new business.

TelCove, formerly known as Adelphia Business Solutions, covers 70 markets in the eastern U.S. and makes about $390 million annually. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. In terms of metrics, all the pending acquisitions will increase Level 3's current traffic aggregation points from 900 to about 5,000 in the U.S.

To learn more about Level 3-TelCove acquisition:
- read Level 3's press release
- listen to Level 3's investor relations call (online until midnight, May 3)

Level 3 powers EarthLink consumer VoIP

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 12:01:50 -0400

EarthLink has selected Level 3 to support its latest VoIP initiative, EarthLink DSL and home phone service. According to the multi-year agreement, Level 3 will provide nationwide local voice service to EarthLink as part of a bundled voice and broadband Internet package. The new service includes features such as caller ID, voice mail and 3-way calling bundled with multiple speeds of DSL Internet access. Level 3 has been supporting EarthLink's trueVoice VoIP service offering since September of last year. Over the past six months, Level 3 has acquired WilTel, Progress Telecom and ICG Communications to expand and strengthen its backbone. The move seems to be paying off, with customers returning already for more service.

To learn more about the Level 3, EarthLink agreement:
- go to Level 3's press release

PLUS: EarthLink, Linksys team to provide VoIP solution. Article

ALSO: EarthLink's profit tumbles, warns of phone delay. Article (Wall Street Journal sub. req.)

Level 3 acquiring ICG for $163M

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 11:16:27 -0400

Wholesaler Level 3 has been slowly expanding its network footprint, recently acquiring Progress Telecom and WilTel. For a follow-up, the carrier has announced its decision to acquire Colorado-based ICG Communications for $163 million. ICG serves more than 1,600 customers over a network spanning 2,000 metro and regional fiber miles in Colorado and Ohio and 500 points of presence. Level 3 anticipates that the transaction will expand its transport, IP and voice businesses and extend its network footprint to meet anticipated demand and realize cost savings. The deal is expected to close mid-year 2006.

For more on Level 3's latest acquisition:
- read Level 3's press release