CenturyLink Prepares for Broadband Caps
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, November 21, 2011 · 
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CenturyLink is preparing to institute usage caps on its DSL subscribers, according to a post this morning at tech blog Broadband Reports.
An internal company memo notes that the telco is changing its terms of service to reflect a 150 GB cap on users with connections 1.5 Mbps or slower, and a 250 GB cap on users who have connections faster than 1.5 Mbps. The CenturyLink website (and this pdf FAQ), confim the changes, but state the actual caps won’t be imposed until February. Read more
CenturyLink to Acquire Savvis, Expand Cloud and Enterprise Services
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, May 2, 2011 · ·
CenturyLink, the nation’s third largest telecom company, announced last week that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire information technology company Savvis Inc. for about $2.5 billion. The acquisition will expand the telco’s hosting, cloud computing and enterprise services.
The offer values Savvis at $40 a share, an 11% premium over its April 26, 2011, closing price, and a premium of 54% compared to its stock price at the beginning of the year. Under the terms of the deal, which also includes about $700 million in debt, Savvis holders will receive $30 a share in cash, and $10 in shares of CenturyLink common stock.
Analysts note that CenturyLink is striving to become the third major enterprise carrier in the U.S. alongside AT&T and Verizon. The Savvis acquisition will put CenturyLink in a prime spot to market itself to enterprises as a company that can deliver the same level of service as the big telcos. Read more
CenturyLink and Qwest Complete Merger
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, April 4, 2011 · ·
CenturyLink Inc.and Qwest Communications have officially completed their merger, creating the nation’s third largest telecommunications company in the United States behind AT&T and Verizon.
The newly combined service provider will operate a 190,000-mile fiber network, offering a broad variety of services to residential, business, wholesale and government customers throughout its 37-state service area. The provider boasts more than 5 million broadband customers, 17 million access lines, 1,415,000 video subscribers and 850,000 wireless consumers. Read more
FCC Approves CenturyLink/Qwest Merger
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, March 21, 2011 · ·
The FCC today approved the merger of CenturyLink Inc. and Qwest Communications International Inc. In doing so, the commission imposed a series of conditions designed to protection against the risk of harm to competition, and ensure the merged entity will live up to its commitments to significantly expand its network and launch a major broadband adoption program for low-income consumers.
The merger now needs one final state approval from Oregon. The transaction is still on track to close April 1. Read more
CenturyLink/Qwest Merger on Track to Close April 1
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, February 28, 2011 · ·
Qwest announced last Friday that it is one step closer to completing its merger with CenturyLink (formerly known as CenturyTel).
A federal judge in Denver has approved a class-action settlement that will dismiss shareholder lawsuits filed against both companies. The judge “indicated that he’ll issue the order next week and it’ll become effective March 17,” said Qwest spokeswoman Diane Reberger. Read more
CenturyLink to Resell Verizon Wireless Service
Posted by Jesse Ward on Friday, February 18, 2011 · ·
CenturyLink has determined that it needs a wireless play, but instead of constructing its own network the telco announced earlier this week that it plans to resell Verizon Wireless’ network services.
CenturyLink — which is close to wrapping up its acquisition of Qwest, another provider that also resells Verizon Wireless’ services — plans to officially launch the wireless offering sometime this spring.
Under the agreement, CenturyLink will offer its customers Verizon Wireless’ full lineup of devices including smartphones, feature phones and Internet devices such as tablets, netbooks, mobile hotspots and USB modems. In addition, CenturyLink customers will have access to Verizon Wireless’ newly launched 4G LTE network which is available in 38 major metropolitan areas and more than 60 airports, and will be expanded to an additional 140 markets by the end of 2011.
Mid-Atlantic Members Win $1.5M for Last-Mile Broadband
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, December 7, 2009 · ·
The Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative (MBC), an organization of 55 private sector telecom companies, announced last week that more than $1.5 million has been awarded to its members for last-mile broadband initiatives.
MBC owns and operates an open-access fiber optic backbone network that provides wholesale optical transport services, collocation, dark fiber and tower construction/leasing in rural Virginia.
The monetary awards are 50/50 matching grants, and will enable deployment of broadband services for residential and business customers in unserved communities in Southern Virginia. Read more