Netflix Signs Multi-Year Deal with Level 3

Level 3 Communications, Inc. LVLT today announced that it has been selected to serve as a primary content delivery network (CDN) provider for Netflix, Inc. NFLX to support the company's streaming functionality and to support storage for the entire Netflix library of content. As a result of the deal, Level 3 has accelerated plans to further invest in its CDN capacity. Level 3 will double its storage capacity and add 2.9 Terabits per second (Tbps) of globally available CDN capacity, which is in addition to the 1.65 Tbps that was deployed in the third quarter of 2010. The CDN augment will provide the headroom needed to meet demand requirements from Netflix now and to accommodate future growth. Netflix says its subscriber base will exceed 19 million in North America by the end of this year and that they expect more growth and international expansion in future years.