Valve Deploys 100 Gbps Internet Ports from Level 3 after Significant Rise in Steam's Online Gaming Demands

Year-over-Year Increase in Bandwidth Needs Requires Larger Pipes for Growing Audience

BROOMFIELD, Colorado, Jan. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Valve, a global online gaming company, is working with Level 3 Communications (NYSE: LVLT) to upgrade its network infrastructure to include 100 Gigabits per second (Gbps) Internet Service ports. The upgrade is in response to the substantial rise in popularity of digital services and online games provided by Steam, Valve's social entertainment and gaming platform. The new ports will give Valve the bandwidth necessary to continue providing an optimal experience as Steam's audience size and usage expands.

Key Facts:

• Level 3's network of 100 Gbps Internet ports is available in 26 markets across North America and Europe.
• Level 3's global IP backbone capacity is more than 42 Terabits per second (Tbps).
• Valve's Steam gaming platform has over 100 million users, averaging more than 10 million concurrent players and over two billion minutes played logged per day.
• Traffic levels to Steam's servers are growing approximately 75 percent year-over-year.
• Steam averages approximately 450-500 petabytes (PB) of data worldwide per month and four to five exabytes (EB) of data per year.
• Steam's standard game release can use 10-40 gigabytes (GB) of data per user download.
• The global games market is expected to bring in nearly $75 billion, according to Superdata.

About Level 3's 100 Gbps Internet Services Solution:

Level 3's 100 Gbps Internet Services solution addresses a number of IP-based trends in the marketplace today:

• Growing demand from content companies for larger Internet capacity to meet end-user expectations.
• Convergence of legacy networks and/or applications onto a single IP backbone to reduce operational complexity.
• Need for faster, more reliable connectivity to data centers for business continuity and big data purposes.
• Growing demand for IP-based services, including broadband Internet, IPTV and VoIP
• Increased consumption on mobile networks fueling demand for backhaul and aggregation networks.

Key Quotes:

Mike Dunkle, Business Development, Internet Infrastructure, Valve

"Valve is committed to providing Steam customers with the best possible experience and services. Level 3 has been instrumental in helping us scale our network to easily and efficiently manage the accelerated growth we've seen over the last several years. They're one of the few providers that offers 100 Gbps Internet ports, which are now a critical component of our network infrastructure."

Anthony Christie, Chief Marketing Officer, Level 3

"While online gaming has been around for decades, game developers and distributors are encountering new challenges as online games have become more popular and bandwidth-hungry. Level 3's network of 100 Gbps Internet ports enables companies like Valve to securely handle massive amounts of traffic and bandwidth-heavy downloads, while still providing millions of customers with the seamless gaming experience that has made Steam a leading platform."

Key Resources:

• About Level 3's Internet Services
• About Level 3's Media and Entertainment Services

About Level 3 Communications

Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) is a Fortune 500 company that 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 500 markets in over 60 countries across a global services platform anchored by owned fiber networks on three continents and connected by extensive undersea facilities. For more information, please visit www.level3.com or get to know us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

© Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Level 3, Vyvx, Venuenet+, Level 3 Communications, Level (3) and the Level 3 Logo are either registered service marks or service marks of Level 3 Communications, LLC and/or one of its Affiliates in the United States and elsewhere. Any other service names, product names, company names or logos included herein are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Level 3 services are provided by subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc.

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 tw telecom acquisition; manage risks associated with continued uncertainty in the global economy; increase revenue from its services to realize its targets for financial and operating performance; maintain and increase traffic on its network; develop and maintain effective business support systems; manage system and network failures or disruptions; avert the breach of its network and computer system security measures; develop new services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; manage the future expansion or adaptation of its network to remain competitive; defend intellectual property and proprietary rights; manage continued or accelerated decreases in market pricing for communications services; 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.

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Related Links

http://www.level3.com