Level 3 Communications: Expansive Content Delivery Network for Fast and Secure Delivery

Anthony Christie, CMO

With the explosion of content delivered over the Internet, Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) have become an increasingly important part of the telecommunications mix. Today, communication is the core of both big businesses and aspiring startups; in response, the Internet and media industries are in a constant state of evolution, creating innovative new technologies to enable businesses to expand into new markets and become more efficient and secure. As end users expect to access high-quality, on-demand and real-time content in an increasingly mobile environment, CDNs are a critical part of the networking solution mix. Level 3 Communications, headquartered in Broomfield, CO, is positioned to help customers deliver high quality content through their scalable CDN and expansive network footprint.

Level 3’s global CDN is directly connected and architected into a global IP backbone, which has more than 42Tbps of capacity and connectivity to over 4,200 autonomous systems. With peering capacity at 21Tbps and growing across 66 unique locations globally, it enables the company to quickly and seamlessly deliver massive amounts of content each day, while maintaining the high speeds and quality their customers demand.

The global network services provider offers in-network acquisition of hundreds of broadcast channels for OTT-Video and Internet TV platforms via Level 3® Vyvx® Solutions. And with OTT-providers adding more Internet-based linear streaming channel offerings to their lineups, Level 3’s ability to rapidly add additional feeds enables them to add new content offerings as their requirements grow. From content acquisition and distribution to encoding and multi-device delivery, Level 3 provides end-to-end video solutions.

“Online content distribution isn’t going to slow down,” says Anthony Christie, Chief Marketing Officer, Level 3 Communications. “In fact, it will continue to escalate and transform our customers’ businesses. Enterprises need reliable solutions they can trust to deliver their content to their own customers, expand their markets and protect their brand reputations in the process.”

An example of how Level 3 could help companies reach new markets can be found in the online delivery space. Many Over-the-Top video providers are interested in creating more of an online TV experience—beyond the traditional video-on-demand format. In order to reach their audience, companies will have to manage the complexity of acquiring hundreds of live cable networks and local broadcast stations in multiple formats and resolutions. By partnering with Level 3, they can leverage the Vyvx network to acquire those channels, then deliver them to a digital media integration company to encode the content to HTTP format for delivery over the Level 3 CDN and, finally, to end-user multi-screen devices.

In 2015, the company doubled the capacity of its CDN network and in 2016, Level 3 is planning to make a global investment in CDN capacity, infrastructure and interconnects.

Security continues to be of primary importance to all enterprises, both within the CDN solution and throughout the enterprise architecture. Level 3’s expansive view of the global threat landscape and its network-based security solutions give customers a proactive stance against malicious threats against their data.

“Together, our CDN, Vyvx network, security products and full suite of networking solutions empower our customers. They enable them to grow, become more efficient and more secure. That is our passion and focus,” adds Christie.