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2010 Madrid Open served to Internet and iPhone

May 27, 2010

LONDON — Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) today announced its successful pilot with Radio Televisión Española (RTVE) to deliver the 2010 Madrid Open tennis tournament online in high-definition (HD). Thousands of people viewed the online broadcast, which was available exclusively in Spain 7-16 May.

“From the time the first serve is captured on video to the moment the viewer watched it on their computer or mobile device, Level 3 provided advanced technology and reliability to create a great experience, both for the customer and the viewer.”

The Internet broadcast was made possible using the Level 3 content delivery network (CDN) and leveraging the company’s Internet Broadcasting services alongside Microsoft Silverlight and Internet Information Services (IIS) Live Smooth Streaming. The broadcast was made available on a website Level 3 worked with RTVE to develop and host for this event at the RTVE main site (rtve.es).

“We’ve had great experiences working with Level 3 on a number of live events over the past year for iPhone delivery, but this was the first major live sporting event we delivered to our Spanish audiences using the Level 3 CDN,” said Andrés Pedrera, technical director at RTVE Interactive Media. “Through this pilot with Level 3, we were able to provide a new and exciting way for thousands of our Spanish viewers to experience the tournament, even if they couldn’t be there in person.”

During the week-long tournament, Level 3 provided signal acquisition and encoding, webpage and player integration, as well as event monitoring and Level 3’s proprietary advanced Content Analytics data collection and monitoring. In addition, the Level 3 CDN delivered the event to iPhones.

“Level 3’s CDN is highly scalable, meaning we’re able to help provide a fast, reliable, high-quality viewing experience for end-users, even if the audience watching online or via iPhone is massive (as it can be for major events),” said James Heard, president of European Markets for Level 3. “From the time the first serve is captured on video to the moment the viewer watched it on their computer or mobile device, Level 3 provided advanced technology and reliability to create a great experience, both for the customer and the viewer.”

To learn more about Level 3’s media delivery services, please visit level3delivers.com.

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 Level3.com.