XO Wins Court Case Against Level 3

XO Communications said Monday the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware has ruled in favor of its complaint against Level 3 Communications Inc. in the companies’ fiber optic network dispute.

The court determined that XO has the right to light fiber it acquired from Level 3 and required Level 3 to provide XO the power and access it needs in order to continue to light fiber for its own network use and the use of third party customers. XO filed the complaint last year.

“We are very pleased with the court’s decision, which confirmed XO’s right to these facilities and Level 3’s obligations to provide services under the agreement,” said Carl Grivner, CEO of XO Communications. “This decision will remove any uncertainty regarding XO’s rights to its fiber plant, and will spur the continued expansion in the capabilities of the XO nationwide fiber optic network.”

The companies agreed in 1998 to collaboratively develop a fiber optics network. Level 3 was to lay the fiber network while XO purchased an indefeasible right of use in part of that network. Through related agreements, XO also agreed to purchase wavelength services from Level 3.

Level 3 argued that these agreements stripped XO of its right to light the fiber it had acquired.

The court disagreed, saying the subsequent agreements did not “in any way modify, alter, terminate, or suspend the rights XO acquired to light fiber it acquired from Level 3, or to provide, for its own purposes or to third parties, wavelength services utilizing such fiber.”

Level 3 Communications Inc. www.level3.com
XO Communications www.xo.com