Telefonica Selects Level 3 for North American Network

LONDON - Dedicated Network Provides Vital Communications Link for Over 250
Million European and Latin American Customers

- 10-Year Agreement Includes Largest Single Capacity Commitment in Level
3 History

Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: LVLT) today announced that the
company has expanded its relationship with Telefonica International Wholesale
Services to establish a dedicated wavelength network across North America,
which represents the largest single capacity commitment in Level 3 history.

“Level 3 offers an innovative and comprehensive transmission network
solution to support our increasing bandwidth demands in the United States,”
said Jose Ramon Vela, CEO of Telefonica Wholesale. “The Level 3 network
provides the diversity, flexibility and scale necessary to grow with our
needs and continue operating with high performance and greater efficiency
across geographically diverse areas.”

Under the terms of the 10-year agreement, Level 3 will transport voice,
data and Internet traffic for over 250 million Telefonica customers from
Europe and Latin America. The dedicated wavelength network includes triverse
routes - with three alternative fiber paths - between high-traffic locations
and route diversity across the remainder of the network.

Level 3 has dedicated bandwidth along each route for Telefonica to expand
with future demand growth. This design offers greater scale and flexibility
than a typical wavelength transaction with more route diversity at a lower
operating cost than building and operating a stand alone fiber network. The
solution provides many of the benefits of network ownership, while leveraging
the economics and simplicity of Level 3’s shared infrastructure.

“Level 3 continues to be a committed network partner for Telefonica and
we are pleased to reach a new capacity milestone in delivering this solution
for them,” said James Heard, president of Level 3’s European Markets Group.
“The extensive reach of our network across North America provides the
redundancy and scale necessary to support the demands of Telefonica’s global
communications business today and into the future.”

About Telefonica International Wholesale Services

Telefonica International Wholesale Services is the organization within
the Telefonica Group which provides global Telecommunication services for
fixed and mobile carriers, ISPs and content providers.

The portfolio, includes International Voice, Capacity, IP
Interconnection, Satellite, Corporate and Mobility services, offering direct
connectivity between Latin America, US and Europe through its fiber optic
international network. Its extensive fiber optic network and its TIER 1 IP
Backbone, with POPs in over 40 countries, carries over 20 billion of
international minutes yearly through its NGN network.

Telefonica Wholesale offers customers a specific and tailored care
service as well as a wide range of services to support all their
international needs. For more information, please visit
www.telefonica.com/carrierservices

About Telefonica

Telefonica is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the
world in terms of market capitalisation. Its activities are centered mainly
on the fixed and mobile telephony businesses with broadband as the key tool
for the development of both.

The company has a significant presence in 25 countries and a customer
base that amounts to 259 million accesses around the world. Telefonica has a
strong presence in Spain, Europe and Latin America, where the company focuses
an important part of its growth strategy.

Telefonica is a 100% listed company, with more than 1.5 million direct
shareholders. Its share capital currently comprises 4,704,996,485 ordinary
shares traded on the Spanish Stock Market (Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and
Valencia) and on those in London, Tokyo, New York, Lima, Buenos Aires and Sao
Paulo.

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 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, Inc.

Media - North America, Kimberly Tulp, +1-720-888-3675, or Media - Europe, Hannah Britt, +44-20-7954-5100, or Investors, Mark Stoutenberg, +1-720-888-2518, all of Level 3 Communications, Inc.; or Telefonica, prensa at telefonica.es / PHOTO: https://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990721/LVLTLOGO