Level 3 Takes VoIP to Europe

Level 3 Communications has launched a partner program in
Europe, allowing resellers to offer Voice over IP
services to small and medium businesses.

The offering debuts in the United Kingdom today and will expand to other
countries throughout 2005, the Broomfield, Colo., backbone network operator
said.

It will mirror the company’s efforts in the United States, which have racked up
125 certified partners since the beginning of the year, Paul Lonnegren, a
Level 3 spokesman, told internetnews.com.

In Europe, as in the United States, the program gives resellers, such as
ISPs and telecom carriers, tools to evaluate their clients’ voice, Internet
and data needs.

Level 3 handles billing, marketing, set-up, provisioning and network
operations center support. Program participants can either sell services
under their own name or choose to leverage the Level 3 brand.

The company is no stranger to the European market. It provides backbone
services to nine out of 10 of the largest European telecom carriers.

And earlier this year, it expanded its suite of data networking services
there, including its IP virtual private network offering for
enterprise customers.

The company also enhanced its wide-area Ethernet, ATM and Frame Relay data
networking for European customers by adding new lower speed data services.
In all, the company’s fiber-optic network stretches 23,000 miles worldwide.