Level 3 forms agreement with BellSouth on Inter-Carrier Rates

📅 April 11, 2001 - Global communications and information services company Level 3 Communications, Inc. (level3.com) announced on Wednesday that it had come to an agreement with BellSouth Telecommunications Inc. (bellsouth.com) that covers BellSouth's nine-state operating region. The deal establishes new rates for exchanging local and Internet service provider-bound traffic, and also resolves issues regarding points of connection.

Level 3 says the agreement is a positive step toward creating a market-based rate structure for all inter-carrier compensation, and that it moves those rates closer to cost. The company also said the deal brings the total number of states in which Level 3 has formed agreements that provide payment for terminating ISP-bound traffic to 34.
Level 3 has already announced similar agreements with Verizon and SBC Corporation. These inter-carrier compensation agreements are designed to set the rates for the transmission and switching services provided by one carrier for traffic coming from another carrier's network. The deal with BellSouth covers both local traffic and ISP-bound traffic in all the states in BellSouth's operating region through December 2003.
The per-minute rates set up by the deal are $.00175 for 2001, $.0015 for 2002 and $.001 for 2003. According to the Telecommunications Act, the companies will file the agreement with the appropriate state commissions, which will take action within 90 days.