Roundup: Level 3, Colo Stocks, PUE

Level 3 reports second quarter 2009 results. Last Thursday Level 3 reported consolidated revenue of $942 million for the quarter, compared with $1.09 billion for the second quarter of 2008. A $134 million net loss for the second quarter included a gain of $96 million from the sale of the company's Vyvx advertising distribution business. Consolidated EBITDA was $229 million, compared with $251 million in the second quarter of 2008. During the quarter Level 3 announced new customer agreements with Fox Entertainment Group, Internet Billboard, and the U.S. Coast Guard. CFO Sunit Patel noted that "while we remained cautious, we expected our revenue base to stabilize and that core communications services revenue pressure would moderate, which is what occurred in the second quarter."

Colocation Stocks and Industry Overview. The Forexhound.com blog has a guest post that reviews colocation stocks Equinix (EQIX), Savvis (SVVS), Switch and Data (SDXC), and Rackspace Holdings (RAX). The article talks about Equinix being the global leader, but there are many niche markets within the industry. Switch and Data and Rackspace are notable mentions with Rackspace having a more stable track record, international presence and positive income.

PUE can be misleading. The discussion on the merits and measurements of data center efficiency measures continues as the Web Host Industry Review reports about the GreenGrid. Vic Smith, EMEA data centre strategist at Dell, and senior Green Grid member points out that comparing PUEs between data centers could be misleading because PUE is purely a "relational metric." See our previous reporting on this topic at The Business of PUE Measurement and PUE and Marketing Mischief.

Construction of supercomputer data center in Wyoming: A timeline has been set for the construction of a supercomputer data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The supercomputer is being built to study climate, weather and other atmospheric processes. New plans call for the center to be completed in summer of 2011. TMCNews reports that the facility "will create high-tech jobs in the state, boost the UW's profile in research, draw visitors to Cheyenne and possibly create other high-tech, high-paying jobs here."