NTOP Net2Phone (MM)

Net2Phone Teams With Level 3 to Expand Cable VoIP Offerings Leading VoIP Companies Join Forces to Offer Expansive End-to-End Telephony Solutions for Cable Operators NEW ORLEANS, May 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Net2Phone and Level 3 Communications, Inc. today announced that they will join forces to offer end-to-end telephony solutions to cable operators. Net2Phone will use Level 3's new (3)VoIP Enhanced(SM) Local residential phone service as an enhancement to its current cable telephony solutions. The companies made the announcement today at The 2004 National Show hosted by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA). Net2Phone -- which currently empowers cable operators with both PacketCable and SIP compliant fully integrated broadband phone service -- plans to use Level 3's new VoIP offering to enhance and expand its end-to-end telephony solutions. By outsourcing telephony deployments to Net2Phone, cable operators can minimize their upfront cost to deploy telephony services while benefiting from accelerated time to market and drawing on Net2Phone's nine years of retail VoIP expertise, servicing more than 500,000 users worldwide. "Level 3's residential VoIP service will provide us with enhancements to our current telephony network, enabling us to accelerate and expand the availability of our innovative telephony solutions to cable operators," said Stephen Greenberg, CEO for Net2Phone. "Complementing our existing VoIP offerings with Level 3's industry-leading local coverage and expertise will only improve our value proposition, as we market diversified cable telephony solutions." "Our relationship with Net2Phone will enable cable operators to receive a robust suite of features, functionality, network availability and enhanced services from two of the most well-respected VoIP players in the market today," said Sureel Choksi, president of Softswitch Services for Level 3. "We're pleased that Net2Phone has elected to use our new (3)VoIP Enhanced Local service to augment the deployment of the VoIP services provided by Net2Phone to business and residential customers in the U.S." As a hosted service provider, Net2Phone enables cable operators with a choice of either PacketCable-compliant or SIP-based full-featured broadband phone service that they can sell as an enhancement and/or bundle to their existing product set. Net2Phone's PacketCable and SIP platform performs call management, provides Class 5 features, billing, provisioning, and seamlessly integrates into its partners' front and back office systems, thereby facilitating a unified bill for bundled services. Level 3 rounds out Net2Phone's solution with its (3)VoIP Enhanced Local service, which includes local phone numbers, interconnection with the public-switched telephone network for local and long distance services, local number portability and E911 emergency services. (3)VoIP Enhanced Local Service Now available in more than 50 U.S. markets, (3)VoIP Enhanced Local service allows companies to develop voice services using Level 3 provided building blocks while retaining the flexibility to manage and control the features offered to residential customers. Key Features of (3)VoIP Enhanced Local Service include: * Local calling including access to the PSTN * Local phone numbers * Operator assistance * Directory listings and assistance * E911 emergency services * Local number portability In addition to residential VoIP services, Level 3 offers a full range of wholesale and business voice services. For more information about Level 3's portfolio of VoIP services, please stop by NCTA booth #4065, or visit http://www.level3.com/. This relationship will serve as a complement to Net2Phone's agreement with IDT Solutions, formerly known as Winstar, which is currently providing local and long distance telecom services in major metropolitan markets. To learn more about Net2Phone's suite of services, please stop by NCTA booth #1859, or visit http://www.net2phone.com/. About Net2Phone Net2Phone provides PacketCable, SIP and wireless VoIP solutions around in the world. As a leader in enabling telecom service providers and cable operators with turn-key hosted VoIP telephony services, Net2Phone has routed billions of retail VoIP minutes globally, servicing more than 100,000 users in the US as well as hundreds of thousands of more overseas. Net2Phone's hosted SIP platform provides partners with residential broadband telephony, calling cards, prefix dialing and enterprise services in over 100 countries. Net2Phone's PacketCable platform provides cable operators with the ability to deliver a primary line replacement service with guaranteed QoS and features such as E911. Traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol NTOP, Net2Phone's strategic partners and investors include Liberty Media Corporation and IDT Corporation. For more information about Net2Phone's products and services, please visit http://www.net2phone.com/. About Level 3 Communications Level 3 (NASDAQ:LVLT) is an international communications and information services company. The company operates one of the largest Internet backbones in the world, is one of the largest providers of wholesale dial-up service to ISPs in North America and is the primary provider of Internet connectivity for millions of broadband subscribers, through its cable and DSL partners. The company offers a wide range of communications services over its 22,500 mile broadband fiber optic network including Internet Protocol (IP) services, broadband transport and infrastructure services, colocation services, and patented Softswitch managed modem and voice services. Its Web address is http://www.level3.com/. The company offers information services through its subsidiaries, Software Spectrum and (i)Structure. For additional information, visit their respective Web sites at http://www.softwarespectrum.com/ and http://www.i-structure.com/. The Level 3 logo is a registered service mark and (3)VoIP Enhanced is a service mark of Level 3 Communications, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. (3)VoIP Enhanced Local service is offered by Level 3 Communications, LLC. Forward Looking Statement Some of the statements made by Level 3 in this press release are forward-looking in nature. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Level 3 believes that its primary risk factors include, but are not limited to: changes in the overall economy relating to, among other things, the September 11 attacks and subsequent events, substantial capital requirements; development of effective internal processes and systems; the ability to attract and retain high quality employees; technology; the number and size of competitors in its markets; law and regulatory policy; and the mix of products and services offered in the company's target markets. 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 release should be evaluated in light of these important factors. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990721/LVLTLOGO DATASOURCE: Level 3 Communications, Inc.; Net2Phone CONTACT: media, Josh Howell, +1-720-888-2517, or Paul Lonnegren, +1-720-888-6099, or investors, Robin Grey, +1-720-888-2518, or Sandra Curlander, +1-720-888-2501, all of Level 3; or Sarah Hofstetter of Net2Phone, +1-973-438-3838 Web site: http://www.softwarespectrum.com/ Web site: http://www.i-structure.com/ Web site: http://www.net2phone.com/ Web site: http://www.level3.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/638277.html

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