Gartner names Level 3 a top global network company

BROOMFIELD — Level 3 Communications Inc. (NYSE: LVLT)  has been recognized by Gartner as a global network services company to watch.

The Broomfield telecommunications company was included in Gartner’s magic quadrant: a metric that ranks technology companies as leaders, challengers, visionaries and niche players based on their completeness of vision and ability to execute. Gartner does not disclose its methodology for its quadrants, but conducts them for several technology industries and updates them every year or every two years.

For the third year, Level 3 is considered a challenger in the global network services industry. It’s a vendor that performs well enough in the market to be a serious threat to leaders, with strong products and the resources for sustained growth.

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Level 3 benefits from an extensive global network, particularly in North and South America, Gartner wrote in its report. Although it is weaker in Asian, Middle Eastern and African markets, a major strength for Level 3 is its cloud connectivity and expansion into European markets.

“In this ever changing digital landscape, Level 3 is committed to providing customers with efficient, reliable and secure solutions that support the needs of their business,” Anthony Christie, chief marketing officer for Level 3, said in a prepared statement. “We believe being positioned in the Challengers quadrant for the third year in a row demonstrates our commitment to our customers and our global strategy is on target as we continue to make strides in providing market-leading solutions delivered with an exceptional customer experience.”

Level 3 shared the challengers quadrant with Vodafone and T-Systems, while companies like AT&T, Verizon and NTT Communications were considered industry leaders.

Interestingly, CenturyLink — the company that plans to acquire Level 3 for $34 billion — is considered a “niche player” in the magic quadrant. Those companies are ones that are narrowly focused on a specific market or might be having trouble executing their vision.

“CenturyLink is the third largest U.S. network service provider,” Gartner wrote. “However, in comparison to leading providers, its global coverage is relatively modest outside North America.”