"Our expansion taking place in New England and other areas around the country is a direct result of the continuing growth of the Internet economy," says Kevin J. O'Hara, Level 3 president and COO officer. "Our Gateways (hubs) enable Internet service providers and other Level 3 customers to meet the growing demand for Internet and communications services in these important markets," adds O'Hara.

Level 3 already has a 40,000-sf Gateway in Cambridge, which will be connected to the new facility by Level 3's own Internet Protocol based network. The new Gateway, in the New England Business Center, is being constructed in two phases. The first will include three floors and cover about 314,000 sf, with tentative plans to deliver in third quarter 2001.

Level 3 also operates Gateways in New York and Silicon Valley and has sealed plans for one in Hong Kong. The company plans to grow its 4.4 million sf of technical space to 6.5 million sf.