The broker lowered its price target to $2.50 from $3, and maintained its estimate for a 2008 loss of 40 cents a share, while analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, estimate a full-year loss of 39 cents a share.

Shares of Level 3, a Broomfield, Colo.-based communications technology provider, closed Friday at $3.12. Greg Saulnier gs/jw

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The Web portal serves as the primary online distribution channel for the newspaper with over 4.6 million page impressions per day. The portal includes a wide variety of news articles, supported by video and other content-rich features. Level 3 caching and download services will replace proprietary technology previously developed by the newspaper. These services will allow for faster delivery of content to a larger audience and also provide the ability to scale rapidly in response to sudden spikes in online demand.

"We are seeing a huge increase in demand for rich media from our Web site and need an infrastructure in place that can deliver this content in a cost effective and scalable way," said Rainer Kerl, technical director of Sueddeutsche Zeitung. "We are very confident that Level 3's CDN platform will deliver what we need and now feel comfortable that we have mitigated the risk associated with large and unexpected traffic loads -- a hazard of operating in the news sector."

Level 3 operates one of the world's leading content delivery networks, allowing Web sites, portals and other companies to deliver high quality digital content over the Internet without the need to invest in capital intensive and depreciating Web hosting infrastructure. Consumers today expect a richer online experience. Delivering content via Web portals, such as http://www.sueddeutsche.de, that use a CDN platform offers both cost efficiencies to the content owner and an exceptional end-user experience to the consumer.

"Sueddeutsche Zeitung operates in a content hungry marketplace that drives large volumes of news and associated rich media content on the portal at any given time," said James Heard, president of Level 3's European Markets Group. "Level 3's CDN brings advanced technology and network intelligence to ensure that content on http://www.sueddeutsche.de is delivered to meet quality demands, address traffic surges, and scale for long-term growth in both traffic and content volume. We are pleased to support the continued online growth of one of Germany's largest newspapers."

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 http://www.Level3.com.

Level 3 Communications, Level 3, the red 3D brackets and the Level 3 Communications logo are registered service marks of Level 3 Communications, LLC and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. Level 3 services are provided by wholly owned subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc. Any other service, product or company names recited herein are trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

Forward-Looking Statement

Some of the statements made in this press release are forward looking in nature. These statements 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. The most 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 acquisitions; increase the volume of traffic on the network; defend intellectual property and proprietary rights; develop new products and services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; successfully complete commercial testing of new technology and information systems to support new products and services; attract and retain qualified management and other personnel; and meet all of the terms and conditions of 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.

SOURCE Level 3 Communications

http://www.level3.com

Under the terms of this new agreement, Level 3 will deliver caching and download services to support ongoing demand growth at http://www.sueddeutsche.de. Powered by extensive content delivery capabilities and patented technology, these services will enable the Web portal to deliver enhanced features and content quality for online viewers.

The Web portal serves as the primary online distribution channel for the newspaper with over 4.6 million page impressions per day. The portal includes a wide variety of news articles, supported by video and other content-rich features. Level 3 caching and download services will replace proprietary technology previously developed by the newspaper. These services will allow for faster delivery of content to a larger audience and also provide the ability to scale rapidly in response to sudden spikes in online demand.

"We are seeing a huge increase in demand for rich media from our Web site and need an infrastructure in place that can deliver this content in a cost effective and scalable way," said Rainer Kerl, technical director of SA 1/4ddeutsche Zeitung. "We are very confident that Level 3's CDN platform will deliver what we need and now feel comfortable that we have mitigated the risk associated with large and unexpected traffic loads -- a hazard of operating in the news sector."

Level 3 operates one of the world's leading content delivery networks, allowing Web sites, portals and other companies to deliver high quality digital content over the Internet without the need to invest in capital intensive and depreciating Web hosting infrastructure. Consumers today expect a richer online experience. Delivering content via Web portals, such as http://www.sueddeutsche.de, that use a CDN platform offers both cost efficiencies to the content owner and an exceptional end-user experience to the consumer.

"SA 1/4ddeutsche Zeitung operates in a content hungry marketplace that drives large volumes of news and associated rich media content on the portal at any given time," said James Heard, president of Level 3's European Markets Group. "Level 3's CDN brings advanced technology and network intelligence to ensure that content on http://www.sueddeutsche.de is delivered to meet quality demands, address traffic surges, and scale for long-term growth in both traffic and content volume. We are pleased to support the continued online growth of one of Germany's largest newspapers."

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 http://www.Level3.com.

Level 3 Communications, Level 3, the red 3D brackets and the Level 3 Communications logo are registered service marks of Level 3 Communications, LLC and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. Level 3 services are provided by wholly owned subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc. Any other service, product or company names recited herein are trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

Forward-Looking Statement

Some of the statements made in this press release are forward looking in nature. These statements 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. The most 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 acquisitions; increase the volume of traffic on the network; defend intellectual property and proprietary rights; develop new products and services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; successfully complete commercial testing of new technology and information systems to support new products and services; attract and retain qualified management and other personnel; and meet all of the terms and conditions of 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.

Web site: http://www.level3.com
              http://www.sueddeutsche.de

Media, Hannah Britt, +44-207-954-2128, or Kimberly Tulp, +1-720-888-3675, or
Investors, Valerie Finberg, +1-720-888-2501, or Mark Stoutenberg,
+1-720-888-2518, all of Level 3 Communications; Photo: NewsCom:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990721/LVLTLOGO, AP Archive:
http://photoarchive.ap.org, PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Under the terms of the agreement, Level 3 is delivering origin storage, caching and download services to provide potentially hundreds of gigabytes per second (Gbps) of on-demand capacity for game patch updates. Funcom's developers regularly update the Age of Conan as the game evolves. These updates are delivered with software patches to the online game via Level 3's CDN and need to be delivered smoothly to not interrupt the participation in the game by hundreds of thousands of players. During the first 60 days of the Age of Conan launch, the Level 3 CDN delivered over 2 petabytes (the equivalent of over 1 million high-quality online movies) of game patch updates to the Age of Conan players.

"We are pleased to collaborate with Funcom to deliver the scalable, high- quality services that the growing online gaming community requires," said Grant van Rooyen, president of Level 3's Content Markets Group. "The rich graphic and video environments Funcom delivers require very large amounts of bandwidth, and Level 3's global network and robust content delivery services are specifically designed to serve the needs of companies that require quality and dependability in the delivery of large-file content."

Level 3's content delivery network is designed to accommodate rich media content for large online audiences. Its CDN improves the speed and efficiency with which large-file, high-volume content traffic is delivered. The speed, quality and reliability that are delivered with these services are keys to providing the real-time user experience demanded by online gamers today.

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 http://www.Level3.com.

Level 3 Communications, Level 3, the red 3D brackets and the Level 3 Communications logo are registered service marks of Level 3 Communications, LLC and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. Level 3 services are provided by wholly owned subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc. Any other service, product or company names recited herein are trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

Forward-Looking Statement

Some of the statements made in this press release are forward looking in nature. These statements 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. The most 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 acquisitions; increase the volume of traffic on the network; defend intellectual property and proprietary rights; develop new products and services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; successfully complete commercial testing of new technology and information systems to support new products and services; attract and retain qualified management and other personnel; and meet all of the terms and conditions of 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.

SOURCE Level 3 Communications

http://www.level3.com