CenturyLink
Encyclopedia
CenturyLink, Inc. is a United States telecommunications
firm, headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana
. The company, founded as Central Telephone & Electronics Corporation in 1968, later changed its name to Century Telephone Enterprises, Inc. in 1971, and then was called CenturyTel, Inc. from 1999 to 2010. A member of the S&P 500
index, the company operates as a local exchange carrier
and Internet service provider
in U.S. markets and is the third-largest local exchange carrier in the U.S. in terms of lines served. It also provides long distance service.
It acquired Embarq
in 2009 and began doing business as CenturyLink, officially changing its corporate name to CenturyLink, Inc. in May 2010. The company completed its acquisition of Qwest
on April 1, 2011. With this transaction completed, CenturyLink became the third-largest telecommunications company in the United States, behind AT&T
and Verizon Communications
.
, which was owned by F.E. Hogan, Sr. In 1930, Hogan sold the company, with 75 paid subscribers, to William Clarke and Marie Williams, for $500. They moved the switchboard
to the Williams family front parlor.
In 1946, the Williams' son, Clarke McRae Williams, received ownership of the family's telephone company as a wedding gift. In 1947, Clarke Williams learned the telephone company in Marion, Louisiana
was for sale. With a loan from business associate Joe Sydney Carter, Clarke purchased the Marion Telephone Company and eventually made it his base of operation as he grew his company through more acquisitions. CenturyLink still maintains offices in the former headquarters building.
The company remained as a family-operated business until it became incorporated in 1968.
to access the larger employee base and to be near the airport.
On October 24, 1978 Century Telephone moved to the New York Stock Exchange
for the first time and began to trade under the ticker symbol CTL.
Century Telephone performed well during the long bear market of the 1970s, as its stock rose over fourfold. The company provided telephone service in parts of 14 states by that time.
In 1981, Century Telephone acquired War Telephone
in West Virginia
.
In 1982, Century Telephone's earnings peaked at US$14 million, then declined in 1983 following the early 1980s recession
, and finally began to recover in 1984. However, the 1983 decline led to a loss of half the value of the company's stock in 1984.
In 1985, both earnings and the stock price had recovered to new record highs. But by then, the company had accumulated US$206 million in long-term debt. Century Telephone sold the operations of War Telephone
and two other companies to Colonial Telephone for $4.66 million.
In 1987, the stock price nearly doubled from its low that year, and from its old 1982 record high, before falling back by a third in the 1987 stock market crash. Earnings had steadily grown each year from their 1983 low, and by 1987 reached nearly US$20 million.
In 1989, Century Telephone Enterprises acquired Universal Telephone, Inc. for US$90 million in cash. During the late 1980s the company began a long trend in which it performed extremely well. The stock split three-for-two twice in this period, as earnings steadily grew, through the 1990-1991 recession, and by year-end 1991, they reached nearly US$40 million, double from what they had been in 1987.
In 1992, Century Telephone acquired Central Telephone Company of Ohio
, a Centel
subsidiary, for US$135 million. The acquisition served more than 65,000 access lines, and added 20% to Century's access line total. Also that year Glen F. Post, III became Chief Executive Officer
and , named Vice Chairman of the Board of Century Telephone.
In 1993, Century Telephone revenues were over US$425 million, up from about US$350 million in 1992. 1993 earnings were nearly US$80 million, up from about US$70 million in 1992, excluding a nearly US$16 million charge in 1992 due to the cumulative effect from an accounting change that year. Also in 1993 the company split its stock three-for-two yet again. However, by then the company had accumulated nearly US$520 million in long-term debt.
By 1995, Century Telephone Enterprises had been added to the S&P MidCap 400 index. Earnings had continued their steady growth trend through the 1994 economic soft landing, and by 1995 they reached over US$115 million. But the long-term debt continued to grow as well, reaching US$623 million that year.
In 1997, Century Telephone acquired Delta Security Alarm Co., Inc. of Monroe, Louisiana, and its largest acquisition up until that time, Pacific Telecom, doubling its size with 660,000 additional telephone access lines in 12 states. Pacific Telecom, Inc. would continue existence and was renamed CenturyTel of the Northwest, Inc.
In 1998, Century Telephone split its stock three-for-two once again. The company acquired another Monroe, Louisiana security company, Century Protection Systems, and also acquired 89,000 access lines and 19 exchanges in 21 northern Wisconsin
communities from Ameritech
. The affected customers had formerly been served by Wisconsin Bell
. Ameritech's directory publishing operations serving those customers were also acquired.
In 1999, the company was renamed as CenturyTel, Inc. It split its stock three-for-two once more, and was added to the Standard & Poor's 500
Index that year.
In 2000, CenturyTel acquired 230,500 GTE
lines in Arkansas, and also bought 127,000 GTE lines in Missouri in partnership with Spectra Communications. In Wisconsin, it acquired 133,000 additional lines, and 70,000 access lines for US$195 million from Verizon. That year CenturyTel also bought 62,650 lines for US$170 million in partnership with Telephone USA of Wisconsin
, LLC.
In 2001, CenturyTel acquired CSW Net, Inc. of Russellville, Arkansas
, and fended off a hostile take-over attempt by ALLTEL
, Inc.
In 2002, the son of the company's original founder and Chairman of the Board Clarke M. Williams died. He was succeeded by then Vice Chairman Glen F. Post, III. The company sold its wireless business to ALLTEL, to become a pure-play rural local exchange carrier. Also that year CenturyTel acquired 300,000 Verizon access lines in Alabama, and 354,000 Verizon access lines in Missouri, bringing its total operations to 22 states with 2.5 million access lines.
In 2003, CenturyTel acquired half ownership of SkyComm International, Inc. in Houston, Texas
, in March, to form a satellite teleport for its global Network Access Point (NAP) system. In June, CenturyTel also acquired the fiber network of Digital Teleport, Inc., a 5700 miles (9,173.2 km) route running from Illinois to Texas, and adjoining states. CenturyTel renamed the network company LightCore. Closing out the year, in December CenturyTel acquired the Midwest Fiber Optic Network (MFON) from Level 3 Communications
, Inc. in December, a stand-alone system in the same core central states as LightCore.
In August 2004, it partnered with EchoStar Communications Corporation for DISH Network
multi-channel digital TV. In September, CenturyTel began a relationship with Cingular Wireless
.
In 2005, CenturyTel began a wireless voice and data service, and bought a number of fiber networks in the central United States, from KMC Telecom Holdings, Inc.
In 2006, CenturyTel sold its entire Arizona assets to Hopi Telecommunications, Inc., bringing total operations to 23 states.
In late 2007, the Customer Respect Group, an international research and consulting firm that focuses on how corporations treat their online customers, ranked CenturyTel the best among six leading communications providers.
In 2007, CenturyTel acquired GulfTel; the GulfTel name was phased out by 2008.
On October 27, 2008, Embarq
announced that it would be acquired by CenturyTel, Inc. in an all-stock transaction valued at $11.6 billion, including the assumption of $5.8 billion in Embarq's debt. CenturyTel's CEO Glen Post
would remain CEO of the merged company following the acquisition.
On October 19, 2009, CenturyTel and Embarq brandings were retired, and all business was officially conducted under the CenturyLink banner, continuing to trade on the NYSE under the CenturyTel stock ticker CTL. The new corporate name, CenturyLink, Inc., did not become official until May 2010.
in a stock-for-stock transaction. Under the agreement, CenturyLink would swap 0.1664 of its shares for each share of Qwest; if approved, CenturyLink shareholders will hold a 50.5% share of ownership in the combined company, while Qwest shareholders would own the remaining 49.5%. The valuation of CenturyLink's purchase as of April 21, 2010 is $22.4 billion, including the assumption of $11.8 billion of outstanding debt held by Qwest as of December 31, 2010. The merger was completed on April 1, 2011.
The addition of Qwest allowed CenturyLink to become the third largest telecommunications company in the United States. The new company has 17 million access lines, 5 million broadband customers, and 1.4 million video subscribers across 37 states. The merger also makes CenturyLink owner of one of the Baby Bells
, as much of Qwest was once U S WEST after the breakup
of AT&T
.
. It offers voice and data communications, as well as television and home security services. CenturyLink's local and long distance voice communications is POTS
. CenturyLink's data communication is through DSL, Ethernet
, MPLS
, ATM
, and Frame Relay
over fiber optics and copper
DS-3 and T-1 lines. The company's television offerings are DirecTV
and an IPTV
service named "PrismTV" which uses equipment similar to that of AT&T
's U-Verse
service. CenturyLink formerly offered Dish Network
bundles to their customers.
Communications in the United States
The primary regulator of communications in the United States is the Federal Communications Commission. It closely regulates all of the industries mentioned below with the exception of newspapers and the Internet service provider industry.- Press :...
firm, headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
. The company, founded as Central Telephone & Electronics Corporation in 1968, later changed its name to Century Telephone Enterprises, Inc. in 1971, and then was called CenturyTel, Inc. from 1999 to 2010. A member of the S&P 500
S&P 500
The S&P 500 is a free-float capitalization-weighted index published since 1957 of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The stocks included in the S&P 500 are those of large publicly held companies that trade on either of the two largest American stock...
index, the company operates as a local exchange carrier
Local exchange carrier
Local Exchange Carrier is a regulatory term in telecommunications for the local telephone company.In the United States, wireline telephone companies are divided into two large categories: long distance and local...
and Internet service provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
in U.S. markets and is the third-largest local exchange carrier in the U.S. in terms of lines served. It also provides long distance service.
It acquired Embarq
Embarq
Embarq Corporation was the largest independent local exchange carrier in the United States , serving customers in 18 states and providing local, long distance, high-speed data and wireless services to residential and business customers...
in 2009 and began doing business as CenturyLink, officially changing its corporate name to CenturyLink, Inc. in May 2010. The company completed its acquisition of Qwest
Qwest
Qwest Communications International, Inc. was a large United States telecommunications carrier. Qwest provided local service in 14 western U.S. states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.On April...
on April 1, 2011. With this transaction completed, CenturyLink became the third-largest telecommunications company in the United States, behind AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
and Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Inc. is a global broadband and telecommunications company and a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average...
.
History
The earliest predecessor of Century Telephone was the Oak Ridge Telephone Company in Oak Ridge, LouisianaOak Ridge, Louisiana
Oak Ridge is a village in Morehouse Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 142 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bastrop Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Oak Ridge is located at ....
, which was owned by F.E. Hogan, Sr. In 1930, Hogan sold the company, with 75 paid subscribers, to William Clarke and Marie Williams, for $500. They moved the switchboard
Telephone switchboard
A switchboard was a device used to connect a group of telephones manually to one another or to an outside connection, within and between telephone exchanges or private branch exchanges . The user was typically known as an operator...
to the Williams family front parlor.
In 1946, the Williams' son, Clarke McRae Williams, received ownership of the family's telephone company as a wedding gift. In 1947, Clarke Williams learned the telephone company in Marion, Louisiana
Marion, Louisiana
Marion is a town in Union Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 806 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Marion is located at ....
was for sale. With a loan from business associate Joe Sydney Carter, Clarke purchased the Marion Telephone Company and eventually made it his base of operation as he grew his company through more acquisitions. CenturyLink still maintains offices in the former headquarters building.
The company remained as a family-operated business until it became incorporated in 1968.
Central Telephone and Electronics
By 1968, Oak Ridge Telephone Company served three states with 10,000 access lines. That year the company was incorporated as Central Telephone and Electronics. Clarke M. Williams served as president and chairman of the board. Between 1968 and 1972 Clarke gradually moved his headquarters from Marion to Monroe, LouisianaMonroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
to access the larger employee base and to be near the airport.
Century Telephone Enterprises
In 1971, the company was renamed as Century Telephone Enterprises, Inc. In 1972, Century Telephone acquired the La Crosse Telephone Corporation, of Wisconsin.On October 24, 1978 Century Telephone moved to the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
for the first time and began to trade under the ticker symbol CTL.
Century Telephone performed well during the long bear market of the 1970s, as its stock rose over fourfold. The company provided telephone service in parts of 14 states by that time.
In 1981, Century Telephone acquired War Telephone
War Telephone
War Acquisition Corp., owned by OTT Communications, is a telephone company in West Virginia serving McDowell County.The company's assets began with the original War Telephone Company, founded in 1937. It was acquired by Century Telephone Enterprises in 1981...
in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
.
In 1982, Century Telephone's earnings peaked at US$14 million, then declined in 1983 following the early 1980s recession
Early 1980s recession
The early 1980s recession describes the severe global economic recession affecting much of the developed world in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The United States and Japan exited recession relatively early, but high unemployment would continue to affect other OECD nations through at least 1985...
, and finally began to recover in 1984. However, the 1983 decline led to a loss of half the value of the company's stock in 1984.
In 1985, both earnings and the stock price had recovered to new record highs. But by then, the company had accumulated US$206 million in long-term debt. Century Telephone sold the operations of War Telephone
War Telephone
War Acquisition Corp., owned by OTT Communications, is a telephone company in West Virginia serving McDowell County.The company's assets began with the original War Telephone Company, founded in 1937. It was acquired by Century Telephone Enterprises in 1981...
and two other companies to Colonial Telephone for $4.66 million.
In 1987, the stock price nearly doubled from its low that year, and from its old 1982 record high, before falling back by a third in the 1987 stock market crash. Earnings had steadily grown each year from their 1983 low, and by 1987 reached nearly US$20 million.
In 1989, Century Telephone Enterprises acquired Universal Telephone, Inc. for US$90 million in cash. During the late 1980s the company began a long trend in which it performed extremely well. The stock split three-for-two twice in this period, as earnings steadily grew, through the 1990-1991 recession, and by year-end 1991, they reached nearly US$40 million, double from what they had been in 1987.
In 1992, Century Telephone acquired Central Telephone Company of Ohio
CenturyTel of Ohio
CenturyTel of Ohio, Inc. is a telephone operating company owned by CenturyLink that provides local telephone service in Ohio, including Amherst, Lorain, and Vermillion....
, a Centel
Centel
Centel Corporation was an American telecommunications company, with primary interests in providing basic telephone service, cellular phone service and cable television service. It was founded in 1900 as an electric company....
subsidiary, for US$135 million. The acquisition served more than 65,000 access lines, and added 20% to Century's access line total. Also that year Glen F. Post, III became Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
and , named Vice Chairman of the Board of Century Telephone.
In 1993, Century Telephone revenues were over US$425 million, up from about US$350 million in 1992. 1993 earnings were nearly US$80 million, up from about US$70 million in 1992, excluding a nearly US$16 million charge in 1992 due to the cumulative effect from an accounting change that year. Also in 1993 the company split its stock three-for-two yet again. However, by then the company had accumulated nearly US$520 million in long-term debt.
By 1995, Century Telephone Enterprises had been added to the S&P MidCap 400 index. Earnings had continued their steady growth trend through the 1994 economic soft landing, and by 1995 they reached over US$115 million. But the long-term debt continued to grow as well, reaching US$623 million that year.
In 1997, Century Telephone acquired Delta Security Alarm Co., Inc. of Monroe, Louisiana, and its largest acquisition up until that time, Pacific Telecom, doubling its size with 660,000 additional telephone access lines in 12 states. Pacific Telecom, Inc. would continue existence and was renamed CenturyTel of the Northwest, Inc.
In 1998, Century Telephone split its stock three-for-two once again. The company acquired another Monroe, Louisiana security company, Century Protection Systems, and also acquired 89,000 access lines and 19 exchanges in 21 northern Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
communities from Ameritech
Ameritech
AT&T Teleholdings, Inc., formerly known as Ameritech Corporation , was a U.S. telecommunications company that arose out of the 1984 AT&T divestiture. Ameritech was one of the seven Regional Bell Operating Companies that was created following the breakup of the Bell System...
. The affected customers had formerly been served by Wisconsin Bell
Wisconsin Bell
Wisconsin Bell, Inc. is the name of the Bell Operating Company serving Wisconsin. They were a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Inc.....
. Ameritech's directory publishing operations serving those customers were also acquired.
CenturyTel
S&P 500
The S&P 500 is a free-float capitalization-weighted index published since 1957 of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The stocks included in the S&P 500 are those of large publicly held companies that trade on either of the two largest American stock...
Index that year.
In 2000, CenturyTel acquired 230,500 GTE
GTE
GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System....
lines in Arkansas, and also bought 127,000 GTE lines in Missouri in partnership with Spectra Communications. In Wisconsin, it acquired 133,000 additional lines, and 70,000 access lines for US$195 million from Verizon. That year CenturyTel also bought 62,650 lines for US$170 million in partnership with Telephone USA of Wisconsin
Telephone USA of Wisconsin
Telephone USA of Wisconsin, LLC is one of the CenturyLink operating companies in Wisconsin. The company's cities include Seneca, Rice Lake, and Gillett....
, LLC.
In 2001, CenturyTel acquired CSW Net, Inc. of Russellville, Arkansas
Russellville, Arkansas
Russellville is the county seat and largest city in Pope County, Arkansas, United States, with a population of 27,920, according to the 2010 Census. It is home to Arkansas Tech University and Arkansas Nuclear One, Arkansas' only nuclear power plant...
, and fended off a hostile take-over attempt by ALLTEL
Alltel
Alltel Corporation is a wireless service provider, primarily based in the United States. Before an acquisition by Verizon Wireless, it served 34 states. After the merger, Alltel continues to serve six states, mostly in rural areas...
, Inc.
In 2002, the son of the company's original founder and Chairman of the Board Clarke M. Williams died. He was succeeded by then Vice Chairman Glen F. Post, III. The company sold its wireless business to ALLTEL, to become a pure-play rural local exchange carrier. Also that year CenturyTel acquired 300,000 Verizon access lines in Alabama, and 354,000 Verizon access lines in Missouri, bringing its total operations to 22 states with 2.5 million access lines.
In 2003, CenturyTel acquired half ownership of SkyComm International, Inc. in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, in March, to form a satellite teleport for its global Network Access Point (NAP) system. In June, CenturyTel also acquired the fiber network of Digital Teleport, Inc., a 5700 miles (9,173.2 km) route running from Illinois to Texas, and adjoining states. CenturyTel renamed the network company LightCore. Closing out the year, in December CenturyTel acquired the Midwest Fiber Optic Network (MFON) from Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications is a telecommunications and Internet service provider headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado.It operates a Tier 1 network. The company provides core transport, IP, voice, video and content delivery for most of the medium to large Internet carriers in North America and Europe...
, Inc. in December, a stand-alone system in the same core central states as LightCore.
In August 2004, it partnered with EchoStar Communications Corporation for DISH Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
multi-channel digital TV. In September, CenturyTel began a relationship with Cingular Wireless
Cingular Wireless
AT&T Mobility LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T that provides wireless services to 100.7 million subscribers in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands...
.
In 2005, CenturyTel began a wireless voice and data service, and bought a number of fiber networks in the central United States, from KMC Telecom Holdings, Inc.
In 2006, CenturyTel sold its entire Arizona assets to Hopi Telecommunications, Inc., bringing total operations to 23 states.
In late 2007, the Customer Respect Group, an international research and consulting firm that focuses on how corporations treat their online customers, ranked CenturyTel the best among six leading communications providers.
In 2007, CenturyTel acquired GulfTel; the GulfTel name was phased out by 2008.
Acquisition of Embarq
Embarq
Embarq Corporation was the largest independent local exchange carrier in the United States , serving customers in 18 states and providing local, long distance, high-speed data and wireless services to residential and business customers...
announced that it would be acquired by CenturyTel, Inc. in an all-stock transaction valued at $11.6 billion, including the assumption of $5.8 billion in Embarq's debt. CenturyTel's CEO Glen Post
Glen Post
Glen F. Post, III is the chief executive officer and president of CenturyLink, an S&P 500 integrated communications service provider based out of Monroe, Louisiana. He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting in 1974 at Louisiana Tech University and an MBA in 1976 at LA Tech. Post joined...
would remain CEO of the merged company following the acquisition.
Name change to CenturyLink
On June 2, 2009, a press release announced that the combined CenturyTel/Embarq entity would be called CenturyLink. Denver-based Monigle Associates was retained to formulate the new brand strategy. The acquisition was completed on July 1, 2009.On October 19, 2009, CenturyTel and Embarq brandings were retired, and all business was officially conducted under the CenturyLink banner, continuing to trade on the NYSE under the CenturyTel stock ticker CTL. The new corporate name, CenturyLink, Inc., did not become official until May 2010.
Acquisition of Qwest
On April 22, 2010, CenturyLink (at this point still legally known as CenturyTel, Inc.) announced it would acquire QwestQwest
Qwest Communications International, Inc. was a large United States telecommunications carrier. Qwest provided local service in 14 western U.S. states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.On April...
in a stock-for-stock transaction. Under the agreement, CenturyLink would swap 0.1664 of its shares for each share of Qwest; if approved, CenturyLink shareholders will hold a 50.5% share of ownership in the combined company, while Qwest shareholders would own the remaining 49.5%. The valuation of CenturyLink's purchase as of April 21, 2010 is $22.4 billion, including the assumption of $11.8 billion of outstanding debt held by Qwest as of December 31, 2010. The merger was completed on April 1, 2011.
The addition of Qwest allowed CenturyLink to become the third largest telecommunications company in the United States. The new company has 17 million access lines, 5 million broadband customers, and 1.4 million video subscribers across 37 states. The merger also makes CenturyLink owner of one of the Baby Bells
Regional Bell Operating Company
The Regional Bell Operating Companies are the result of United States v. AT&T, the U.S. Department of Justice antitrust suit against the former American Telephone & Telegraph Company . On January 8, 1982, AT&T Corp. settled the suit and agreed to divest its local exchange service operating...
, as much of Qwest was once U S WEST after the breakup
Bell System divestiture
The Bell System divestiture, or the breakup of AT&T, was initiated by the filing in 1974 by the U.S. Department of Justice of an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T. The case, United States v...
of AT&T
AT&T Corporation
AT&T Corp., originally American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American telecommunications company that provides voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to businesses, consumers, and government agencies. AT&T is the oldest telecommunications company...
.
Services offered
CenturyLink is a telephone companyTelephone company
A telephone company is a service provider of telecommunications services such as telephony and data communications access. Many were at one time nationalized or state-regulated monopolies...
. It offers voice and data communications, as well as television and home security services. CenturyLink's local and long distance voice communications is POTS
Plain old telephone service
Plain old telephone service is the voice-grade telephone service that remains the basic form of residential and small business service connection to the telephone network in many parts of the world....
. CenturyLink's data communication is through DSL, Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
, MPLS
Mpls
MPLS or Mpls can refer to:* Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States* Multiprotocol Label Switching, a data-carrying mechanism in computer networking...
, ATM
Asynchronous Transfer Mode
Asynchronous Transfer Mode is a standard switching technique designed to unify telecommunication and computer networks. It uses asynchronous time-division multiplexing, and it encodes data into small, fixed-sized cells. This differs from approaches such as the Internet Protocol or Ethernet that...
, and Frame Relay
Frame relay
Frame Relay is a standardized wide area network technology that specifies the physical and logical link layers of digital telecommunications channels using a packet switching methodology...
over fiber optics and copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
DS-3 and T-1 lines. The company's television offerings are DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
and an IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
service named "PrismTV" which uses equipment similar to that of AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
's U-Verse
U-Verse
AT&T U-verse is a registered service mark under which AT&T offers Internet access, television, and telephone services in various parts of the United States. It began in 2008 to serve mostly residences and small businesses in urban and suburban areas.-Services:...
service. CenturyLink formerly offered Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
bundles to their customers.
Venues
- CenturyLink Arena Boise - Boise, IdahoBoise, IdahoBoise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
(formerly Bank of America Centre and Qwest Arena) - CenturyLink Center — Bossier City, LouisianaBossier City, LouisianaBossier City is a city in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States.As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of 61,315. Bossier City is closely tied to its larger sister city Shreveport, located on the western bank of the Red River. The Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area is the...
(formerly Bossier City Arena and CenturyTel Center) - CenturyLink Center Omaha - Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, NebraskaOmaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
(formerly Qwest Center) - CenturyLink Field — Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, WashingtonSeattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
(formerly Seahawks Stadium and Qwest Field)