Telecom Ramblings

Level 3 Communications (LVLT: chart, news) announced a nice CDN contract today in the gaming sector.  The company has already been providing caching and download services to Metaboli in Europe since early this year, and will now also be serving the US operations which operate under the name GameTap.  GameTap used to be part of the Turner Broadcasting empire, but was sold two years ago to Paris based Metaboli.  The transition for that transaction is now complete, and they are re-launching the GameTap brand.

Many of Level 3’s CDN wins lately have either been European or have had a European angle.  I suspect that is because while most CDNs have European coverage, only a few actually have a real sales presence continent-wide.  Because of its long presence in the European wholesale carrier market, Level 3 has a head start in that regard.  So while the US market is marked by many competitors, large and small, the European landscape is good hunting ground.