Switch and Data, Level 3 Expand Agreement

May 1, 2001 -- Infrastructure industry heavyweights Switch and Data and Level 3 Communications said this week they would expand a connectivity agreement between the two companies.
The expanded deal gives customers in 16 of Switch and Data's carrier-neutral colocation centers access to Level 3's high-speed network.
Both companies touted benefits of the agreement, which strengthens Switch and Data's position as a leading colocation provider, while allowing Level 3 to meet demand for bandwidth in additional key markets.
The agreement is part of a larger plan to roll out Level 3 services to customers in 21of Switch and Data's 34 locations by December 2001.
"We're pleased to expand our relationship with Switch and Data,'' said John Brito-Amador, vice president for Level 3. "Our relationship with Switch and Data and other third-party colocation providers gives Level 3 an important marketing channel that drives substantial traffic onto our metropolitan, intercity and undersea networks."
Switch and Data President and CEO Patricia Higgins said the alliance with Level 3 "demonstrates our pledge to deliver a broad range of networks to our footprint.''
"We're continuing to attract a strong customer mix in part because of our contracts with Level 3 and other global, national and regional carriers,'' Higgins added.
Level 3 will target Internet Service Providers and other network service providers whose growing demand for optical network connectivity can be served via its global IP backbone.
Founded in 1997, Switch and Data is headquartered in Tampa, Fla. and provides colocation, value-added services and technical support to an array of service providers such as Internet Service Providers (ISPs), competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), application service providers (ASPs), Managed Service Providers (MSPs), data storage companies and telcos.
Denver-based Level 3 offers bandwidth services in more than 150 Internet and communications centers in North America, Europe and Asia, including 50 advanced Level 3 data centers and 100 data centers being leased from other providers. Level 3 said its customer base has exceeded 2,400 communications intensive customers, including Akamai, Microsoft, EarthLink and Yahoo Broadcast.,