Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) announced it has signed a voice interconnection agreement with Belgacom SA, Belgium's dominant provider of telephony services. Level 3 executed the contract with Belgacom's Wholesale & Carrier Services Business Unit, which was ranked the 14th largest international carrier in 2000.
The agreement allows the two companies to terminate international voice traffic directly onto each other's networks. Communications companies without such agreements in place must use third-party resellers to exchange traffic, which drives up termination costs and decreases quality of service.
Level 3 already provides Belgacom with its (3)CrossRoads service in Europe. (3)CrossRoads is a global Internet access service designed to provide superior network performance across Level 3's multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) backbone currently operating at 10 gigabits per second. (3)CrossRoads provides connectivity from a variety of locations around the world, including Level 3 data centers in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
About Belgacom:
Headquartered in Brussels, Belgacom is a supplier of global telecommunications services to the Belgian market and the 14th largest transit provider in the world.
About Level 3 Communications:
Level 3 (NASDAQ: LVLT) is a global communications and information services company offering IP services, broadband transport, colocation services and Softswitch based services. For more information, visit www.level3.com.