CenturyLink Again Makes it Clear Rural Upgrades not a Priority [telecom]

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by Karl Bode

Like most second-tier telcos, CenturyLink's failure to upgrade its network at any real scale has resulted in it losing DSL customers to cable providers, who are now starting to more broadly deliver gigabit speeds. That's especially true across the second and third tier cities and smaller towns and rural markets these telcos simply don't think are worth upgrading. But while CenturyLink's PR department has been making numerous promises that these users will be upgraded, the company continues to tell a different story to investors.

Speaking at an investor conference this week, CenturyLink CFO Sunit Patel once again made it clear that CenturyLink doesn't have much of an interest in the countless rural customers it serves. Or in getting those users closer to the FCC's actual definition of broadband (25 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up).