1. © 2009 Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Level 3 Communications, Level 3, the red 3D brackets and the Level 3 Communications logo are registered service marks of Level 3 Communications, LLC 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 may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Level 3 ® Transoceanic and EU Network Services

2. 2  2010 Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 2 Meeting Objective Brief history in time Sub-sea design and reliability Network; sub-sea and terrestrial Risks and how to mitigate them Future technologies

3. 3  2010 Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 3 TA History 1998  Fully redundant, three ring SDH networks deployed – i.e Gemini. 2000  Gemini network sliced in two – TA went unprotected.  Yellow, Level 3 built cable RFS  TAT-14 RFS 2001 onwards  Large number of private TA systems deployment, Flag Atlantic, TATA Communications (Tyco), and Hibernia. 2003  Apollo, latest transatlantic went into service  Designed for the unprotected 10G wavelength market and served a need to avoid Manhattan with its direct connection to Washington. 2008  Technology advances meant additional capacity and new products available; 10Ge wavelengths 2009  Product enhancements 40Gbit/s trial, protected waves, Gige over wave 2010  40G waves deployed on TA systems for capacity benefit.

4. 4  2010 Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 4

5. 5 5 Cable routing and design… Inherently reliable Improvements in route selection, survey and installation. New cable design also enhanced the reliability of TA systems. Fault rates low, combination of improvements in deployment, after installation management and fishing trends.

6. 6  2010 Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 6 What on earth could go wrong?

7. 7  2010 Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 7 Marine Environment

8. 8  2010 Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 8 …and Repairs

9. 9  2010 Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 9 Resiliency and Priority Modern TA systems can potentially carry over 1 Terabit – per fiber pair Faults vary in the type and required repair duration - operators will assess traffic on the effected cable and restore as appropriate Terrestrial faults more frequent; important to know the diversity and precise routes utilised. Operators do not know what is contained within the wavelengths; advice required FCC recently undertook a review of sub-sea systems “Voluntary Request for Cable Status Information” – early warning and situation awareness Level 3 fully complies with FCC requirements and provides information regarding the submarine cable integrity of Yellow.

10. 10  2010 Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 10 Expected Latency (rtd) Transatlantic Network Diversity and Latency CableCommentNew York-LondonNew York-FrankfurtChicago-London *Chicago-Frankfurt * YellowLevel 3 built68 ms83 ms87 ms101 ms AC1Limited wave capacity68 ms82 ms86 ms100 ms Apollo North68 ms82 ms86 ms100 ms HiberniaCan avoid NY81 ms95 ms97 ms111 ms FLAG North68 ms82 ms86 ms100 ms Apollo SouthCan avoid NY, London84 ms**86 ms**98 ms101 ms Utilizes Liquidity Express Route **10 Gig only. 2.5 Gig latency is higher

11. 11  2010 Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 11 Caltech Network Design

12. 12  2010 Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 12 The future Strong demand for 10G and 10Ge continues. To date, 40G terrestrially and sub-sea wise market not commercially viable owing to interface costs; signs that this is changing. Question mark over 40G; is this a transient technology? Market now appears to be solidifying but 40G and 10G can run side by side. 100G sub-sea wise some way off still; but developments in the 40G equipment giving positive indications on the ability to transmit 100G on transoceanic distances. Technology advances has delayed to build of a new TA cable and may continue to do so.

13. 13  2010 Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 13 Thank you and Q&A.