Level 3 to Transform U.K. Forestry Commission's IT Communications Infrastructure

- Government Department awards four-year contract to Level 3 to help improve efficiency, achieve PSN compliance

LONDON, Aug. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) today announced that it has been awarded a four-year contract with the Forestry Commission, the UK government department responsible for the protection and expansion of Britain's forests and woodlands. Under the terms of the contract, awarded under the Government Procurement Service Managed Telecommunications Convergence Framework (MTCF), Level 3 will deliver data and voice network, collaboration and broadband services to help the commission improve efficiency across the organisation, support an increasingly mobile workforce and achieve compliance with the Public Services Network (PSN) standards.

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The contract will enable the Forestry Commission's workforce to benefit from greater flexibility and adaptability in supporting organisational change. The Forestry Commission's IT team will also benefit from a centralised management hub, ensuring compliance and security, while reducing annual expenditure from £2 million to £1.3 million. The deal also provides additional resilience and redundancy to the Forestry Commission, ensuring business continuity in the event of a disaster at its key locations.

"We are delighted to grow our relationship with Level 3," said David Felstead, director of Information Services at the Forestry Commission. "We have worked with Level 3 for years and know the caliber of their work. After a period of supplier evaluations, it became clear to us that they were the best supplier to help us future-proof our organisation, ensuring we can adapt to the evolving requirements of our workforce, whilst achieving significant operational and cost efficiencies. We look forward to continuing our long and successful relationship with Level 3."

Level 3 has worked with the Forestry Commission since 2005, and as part of the commission's strategy to future-proof its technology and operations, it recently began plans to update its communications infrastructure. After a period of supplier evaluations, the Forestry Commission selected Level 3.

"The Forestry Commission's workforce is increasingly mobile, and Level 3 has the network and service portfolio to deliver the kind of experience that will keep its workforce connected and collaborating across locations and geographies," said Jeff Parris, Level 3's senior vice president of Government Sales in EMEA. "Our primary objectives were to help the Commission increase efficiencies by enabling quick collaboration by audio, Web and video."

For more information on Level 3's advanced network and service offerings, visit www.level3.com.

About Level 3 Communications

Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) provides local, national and global communications services to enterprise, government and carrier customers. Level 3's comprehensive portfolio of secure, managed solutions includes fiber and infrastructure solutions; IP-based voice and data communications; wide-area Ethernet services; video and content distribution; data center and cloud-based solutions. Level 3 serves customers in more than 450 markets in 45 countries over a global services platform anchored by owned fiber networks on three continents and connected by extensive undersea facilities. Level 3 services are provided by subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc. For more information, visit www.level3.com.

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Forward-Looking Statement

Some statements made in this press release are forward-looking in nature and 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. 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 the Global Crossing acquisition or otherwise realize the anticipated benefits thereof; manage risks associated with continued uncertainty in the global economy; obtain additional financing, particularly in the event of disruptions in the financial markets; manage continued or accelerated decreases in market pricing for communications services; maintain and increase traffic on its network; develop and maintain effective business support systems; manage system and network failures or disruptions; develop new services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; adapt to rapid technological changes that could adversely affect the company's competitiveness; defend intellectual property and proprietary rights; obtain capacity for its network from other providers and interconnect its network with other networks on favorable terms; attract and retain qualified management and other personnel; successfully integrate future acquisitions; effectively manage political, legal, regulatory, foreign currency and other risks it is exposed to due to its substantial international operations; mitigate its exposure to contingent liabilities; and meet all of the terms and conditions of its 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.