Apparently, Level 3 had the winning bid. Under a new contract, the Broomfield, Colo., network operator becomes one of the primary suppliers of Internet access services to the online auction giant eBay .
eBay will use Level 3’s CrossRoads service, which connects customers in the United States and Europe with the networks that comprise the public Internet.
Glenn Beeswanger, a vice president at the San Jose, Calif., e-commerce company, said Level 3 can “provision services quickly and efficiently” and has a strong operations and customer care reputation.
Neither the duration nor the value of the agreement will be disclosed, a Level 3 spokesman told internetnews.com.
The pact comes during a busy month for both companies. eBay recently recast its relationship with Sotheby’s auction house, which will drop its branded site but continue using eBay’s live auction technology.
And Level 3 recently closed its purchase of bankrupt Genuity, at a considerable discount from price first floated in November. The Genuity buy netted Level 3 lucrative bandwidth wholesale deals with Verizon and America Online as well as new network facilities.
In addition to Internet access, Level 3 provides colocation, Web hosting, security and network services to Internet service providers, search engines and portals.
