Applauds FCC Acting Chair Clyburn for her commitment to rural consumers    

CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) announced today that it is eligible to receive at least $90 million this year from the Federal Communications Commission’s Connect America Fund (CAF) to bring broadband to thousands of rural homes and businesses in high-cost areas. The company may also be eligible for additional CAF phase I money that was not accepted last year.

CenturyLink is currently evaluating how much of this CAF phase I, round 2 money the company will be able to accept and where it will be deployed. The company will also be spending an equal amount of its own capital over the next three years to deploy broadband service in rural America.

“CenturyLink is delighted to bring broadband to thousands of rural Americans who live in areas where the cost of providing broadband service would be economically prohibitive without public-private programs like the Connect America Fund. We applaud the commitment of FCC Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn and Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Pai to bring the many benefits of broadband to more Americans in rural areas,” said Steve Davis, CenturyLink executive vice president for public policy and government relations.  

“CenturyLink and the commission share the same goal of delivering high-speed Internet services to Americans who currently don’t have access to them,” Davis said. “We praise Chairwoman Clyburn for her dedication to communications issues that impact rural Americans and for being a strong proponent that all of the CAF I money left over from the first round be available to rural consumers. Clyburn has been a staunch advocate for consumers and a tireless champion of the economic and educational opportunities that come with broadband.”

Close to 100 members of Congress from both sides of the aisle contacted the FCC earlier this year urging the commission to distribute immediately CAF phase I, round 2 money to bring broadband to more rural Americans.

This money is in addition to the $35 million in CAF phase I, round 1 monies that CenturyLink accepted in 2012 to deploy broadband service to 45,000 homes in unserved rural areas. The company is also investing hundreds of millions of dollars of its own money to bring broadband to more customers in high-cost areas of its territory. The FCC is evaluating models for the next round, CAF phase II support, which will distribute up to $1.8 billion annually to support broadband in high-cost rural areas served by companies like CenturyLink.

The list is long. Dozens, if not more, municipal and government-sponsored broadband networks that were funded with well-intentioned tax dollars from citizens and businesses are now struggling under the weight of ballooning costs and highly speculative business plans. Interestingly, consultants and cash-strapped city planners in small to medium-sized towns across the country still seem receptive to using taxpayer dollars for venture capital to fund and build government-owned networks on top of existing communications networks.

Most localities are quickly realizing two things. First, communications networks are challenging to operate and capital intensive to build and maintain. Second, there is no “build it and they will come ” when it comes to consumer choice and competition. In other words, the telecom industry makes for a challenging operating environment for even the most experienced and well-financed providers.

CenturyLink invests hundreds of millions of dollars every year to enhance broadband speeds and capacity in our service areas and to bring broadband to more homes and businesses across the country. While we support public-private initiatives that leverage existing communications infrastructure to extend broadband service to unserved areas, we believe a more efficient model is for municipalities to work closely with experienced providers to achieve their telecom needs.

A May 9 story in a Colorado publication highlights the city of Longmont’s move to forge ahead with a municipally-owned broadband project that will compete for customers in the marketplace. However, critics are already pointing out parallels with similar government-run ventures that ran off the rails in other communities—and used the same consultants now shepherding Longmont’s project.  We encourage you to read the article.

“CenturyLink congratulates Tom Wheeler on his nomination to chair the FCC. His wealth of business experience should position him well to work with various industry segments to ensure good consumer outcomes as we transition to next-generation products, services and technologies,” CenturyLink, Inc. Senior Vice President for Federal Policy and Regulatory Affairs Melissa Newman. “We look forward to working with him on the many public policy issues facing today’s communications companies and their customers, including the deployment of broadband services to high-cost areas, the elimination of unnecessary rules and regulations, and the creation of real competition for video services.”

“CenturyLink also congratulates Commissioner Mignon Clyburn on soon being named acting FCC chair,” Newman said. “Commissioner Clyburn has been a tireless champion and leader on communications issues that impact consumers.  We look forward to continuing to work with her on communications policies that affect consumers, especially those who live in rural America.”

Company to provide high-speed network services to the Department of Defense

CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) recently won the Defense Research and Engineering Network (DREN) III contract sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense High Performance Computing Modernization Program (DoD HPCMP). The HPCMP aims to solve complicated and time-consuming problems with massively-parallel computing and very high-speed networking. 

The contract was awarded to CenturyLink by the Defense Information Systems Agency’s Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DISA DITCO). The 10-year indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract has a minimum award value of $250,000 and a ceiling of $750 million.

CenturyLink will provide a high-speed, fiber-optic network that connects the department’s supercomputers and researchers at speeds ranging from 50 megabits to 100 gigabits per second. The company will supply Ethernet, Internet Protocol and optical wave services through a Virtual Private Local Area Network Service that will link defense scientists and engineers at leading research institutions, laboratories and test facilities at more than 150 DoD locations nationwide.  

DREN enables researchers to design solutions to complex problems and develop new technologies critical to the defense industrial base and national security. In addition, DREN is an ideal national test bed to accelerate the development and deployment of ultra-high-speed bandwidth applications and is a leader in the deployment of next-generation networking and security technologies. DREN III will accelerate these network advancements into even higher levels of performance for the scientific community.

“We’re excited by the new capabilities DREN III will provide the defense research and test communities,” said Dr. Reed Mosher, director of the Information Technology Laboratory at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. “Robust connectivity, enabling collaboration among world-class scientists and engineers, will result in fielding new and enhanced warfighting capabilities in record time.”

“DREN is an essential component of our program, connecting defense researchers located throughout the country with the department’s supercomputing resources,” said John West, director of the HPCMP. “We look forward to collaborating with our new partners as we work together to provide new DREN services and capabilities to our community.”

“DREN enables the greatest minds in the scientific and engineering communities to conduct research and develop some of the most advanced technologies in the world,” said Diana Gowen, CenturyLink senior vice president and general manager, who oversees solutions for federal, state and local government customers. “CenturyLink will provide a unique environment with seamless communications to DREN III that will facilitate user access and enable scientific collaboration throughout the network. CenturyLink’s solution will make DREN III a research network environment rather than a network that just transports research data.”

CenturyLink previously won a multi-year task order from DISA DITCO under the General Services Administration’s Networx program, valued at more than $250 million, to provide private line services for dedicated high-speed connections between military installations. CenturyLink has served the research and engineering community since 1998, when the company signed an agreement with the National Science Foundation to provide network services.

CenturyLink executive testifies before Senate Commerce subcommittee

Consumer access to broadband in high-cost markets is the central issue in rural communications today, CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) Executive Vice President for Public Policy and Government Relations Steve Davis told a U.S. Senate subcommittee today at a hearing on the state of rural communications.

CenturyLink recommended that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) release additional Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase I monies right away to help carriers meet the high costs of bringing broadband to unserved areas.

“In the 21st century economy, being connected has become an integral part of nearly everything we do—in work, education, medicine, agriculture and numerous other pursuits,” Davis told the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet. “And for rural communities seeking economic development, a robust broadband infrastructure is often a prerequisite before any business, large or small, will consider moving to that area.”  

Over the past five years, CenturyLink has invested more than $4 billion to bring broadband access to every corner of our service territory where it is economically feasible.  “And despite the rural nature of our markets, we are making high-speed Internet service available to more than 91 percent of the homes and businesses in our local service areas,” he said.  

“In the last several years, broadband availability has definitely increased, but more must be done,” Davis explained. “In the near term, the challenge is to keep reaching unserved households and bring more consumers and communities into the broadband economy.” 

As the FCC and rural providers have worked together, several guiding principles have emerged over time: 

• We must target support on a granular basis to places where market forces would not otherwise make it available.
• We must ensure that support goes only to those uneconomic places and where there is not an unsubsidized competitor providing adequate service.
• We must ensure that supported services are reasonably equivalent to those available in urban markets, in features, quality and price. 
• We must match support and obligations to serve—obligations cannot exceed the available support and those obligations should be limited to the supported areas.

CAF I is a critical feature of the FCC’s broadband deployment plan. This program is intended to jumpstart the unserved deployment process by allocating money annually to the deployment of broadband services in high-cost, unserved areas. 

The states and local markets that will benefit from this funding are eager to see the release and use of these CAF I funds to build broadband networks and allow them to access the services that will be offered. With spring’s arrival, the time for providers to build networks is now.

Unsurprisingly, support for moving forward with this approach has been bipartisan and widespread across both urban and rural affiliations. Nearly 100 members of Congress have contacted the FCC within the last 90 days requesting the release of additional CAF I funds. Governors, mayors, business owners and consumers from across the country have also weighed in with their letters and words of support. 

“Timely FCC action could significantly narrow the rural digital divide, and faster broadband speeds and greater availability of broadband services will give rural consumers access to new educational opportunities, cloud computing services, healthcare applications, IP television and streaming video,” Davis said. 

“The good news is that it appears the FCC is ready to move forward on this important initiative.  We believe and hope that the FCC is prepared to adopt an order which would lay the groundwork for use of these CAF I dollars sooner rather than later,” he noted.  “For the hundreds of thousands of households and businesses that have little hope of receiving high-speed Internet services today, a speedy decision by the FCC would be a welcome and meaningful action that would improve both lives and economies in these markets for years to come.” 

Davis concluded his testimony, “The challenge of bringing robust broadband services to rural America is not an easy one, but it’s an important one, and we look forward to working with the FCC and Congress in 2013 and beyond to continue improving the state of rural communications.”

The CEOs of three of America’s largest telecommunications companies – CenturyLink, Frontier and Windstream – recently sent a letter to FCC Chair Julius Genachowski urging him to release funds that will help bring broadband services to more Americans. The letter urges the FCC to release additional Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase I monies “as expeditiously as possible” because these monies will help deliver broadband to more “citizens living in rural, high-cost areas.”

“The public policy established by the administration and articulated in the National Broadband Plan recognizes that broadband connectivity is more than a game changer – it is a life changer and absolutely necessary to our country’s economic recovery and prosperity. High-speed broadband has become an indispensable platform for economic growth and job creation and provides access to educational opportunities and improved healthcare,” the letter states. “The expeditious distribution of Phase I support provides an immediate opportunity to accelerate broadband availability in rural America.”

The letter highlights the fact that “more than 80 [U.S.] Senators and Congressmen from both sides of the aisle have voiced their support for the distribution of these ratepayer-collected funds. CenturyLink, Frontier and Windstream stand ready and able to use this funding, in conjunction with our own private capital, to create jobs and invest in rural America.”

The CEOs of the three carriers also emphasized that the time for the FCC to act is now. “The arrival of spring signals the start of the building season across much of America. With Phase I support, hundreds of thousands of households will experience the benefits of robust broadband for the first time,” the letter addressed to Genachowski said. “We look forward to working with you to deliver on the broadband promise.”

CenturyLink recently joined a coalition of 18 companies and associations in signing a strong letter of support for federal metal theft prevention legislation introduced by U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar
(D-Minn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in late February. The Metal Theft Prevention Act of 2013, S. 394,  would make metal theft that harms critical infrastructure a federal crime and create oversight of scrap metal dealers in states that do not already have documentation of ownership rules. 

“Metal theft is a persistent problem that plaques businesses in a wide array of industries, threatens public safety and causes great harm to communications, utility and transportation infrastructure,” wrote the trade associations representing electric utilities, building contractors, retail centers and police chiefs, as well as CenturyLink, Home Depot, Lowe’s and telecom industry partners Windstream Corporation, XO Communications, the United States Telecom Association and the Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance.

In addition to the financial costs of restoring critical networks, “metal theft has endangered lives and posed serious threats to public safety,” the letter states. For example, by stealing metal from telecommunications lines, thieves have severed communities and first responders from access to emergency 911 services. Likewise, by stealing wiring from streetlights and electrical substations, metal thieves have left highways and communities in the dark and left residences and businesses vulnerable.

“Most states have enacted laws specifically addressing metal theft, but it is important that federal law and the federal government complement the efforts of state and local authorities. We are pleased to see the multi-faceted approach of your legislation and believe it would decrease the prevalence of metal theft, thereby protecting critical infrastructure, promoting public safety and saving money and valuable resources across the economy,” the letter to Sens. Klobuchar and Graham states.

CenturyLink looks forward to working with Congress, our coalition partners, and state and local officials to quickly strengthen laws and give law enforcement agencies more power to prohibit and deter metal theft.

CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) supports the critical goals of the White House cybersecurity executive order issued last night, which aims to keep America safe from cyber threats by improving information sharing and collaborative actions between government agencies and the private sector.

The company also supports the Cybersecurity Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) that is expected to be introduced later today by U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.).

“Since our network is one of the central assets of our business, we’ve invested heavily in robust cybersecurity protections and created a governance, risk and compliance framework that leverages voluntary public-private partnerships with the federal government,” said Steve Davis, CenturyLink executive vice president for public policy and government relations.

“As a leading provider of cybersecurity protections, CenturyLink is encouraged by the White House executive order’s provisions to improve information sharing between government agencies and the private sector. A voluntary, flexible, balanced and collaborative partnership between government agencies and the private sector is essential to improving the nation’s cybersecurity posture.

“We also encourage the president to work with Congress on bipartisan legislation that establishes a legal framework for information sharing and liability protections.

“CenturyLink supports the Rogers-Ruppersberger bill because it enhances cyber-threat information sharing between the public and private sectors and includes strong privacy protections for service providers and their customers.”

CenturyLink supports the joint comments filed Jan. 28 by the United States Telecom Association and the Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance on the Connect American Fund (CAF) Phase I eligibility requirements for 2013. 

“CenturyLink hopes that the FCC will move quickly to modify its Connect America Fund eligibility requirements to achieve the fund’s purpose of bringing broadband to more Americans, a goal we share,” said Steve Davis, CenturyLink executive vice president for public policy and government relations. “We look forward to working with the commission to bring broadband service, and all the economic and educational opportunities that go with it, to thousands of American homes and businesses in otherwise uneconomical high-cost areas. We’re also investing millions of dollars of our own money to bring broadband to more of our customers in high-cost, rural areas of the country.”

Despite impressive and ever-increasing gains in broadband availability and speeds in the majority of the communities in our country, we apparently still have occasional pundits suggesting that the government should regulate broadband networks the way it regulates landline phone service and public utilities. 

They suggest that the marketplace competition is not working, yet most Americans have more than one choice when it comes to selecting a broadband provider. It is interesting to note that today’s consumers are much more focused on faster speeds, bundled pricing and additional broadband services that result from a competitive market rather than on more government interference.

It’s also worth noting that unlike public utilities, broadband is not a uniform product and broadband providers are not all the same. For example, broadband can carry many different types of products—from voice to data to video—and can also use different types of technologies—from copper to fiber to WiFi—to deliver these products to homes and businesses.

CenturyLink invests hundreds of millions of dollars every year to bring broadband to more consumers and businesses across the country.  But the reality is that additional government regulation of broadband networks would stifle private investment in broadband technologies and infrastructure instead of encourage it. 

Several recent opinion pieces make some good arguments in favor of leaving broadband alone.  I encourage you to read them here:  

http://dailycaller.com/2013/01/11/professor-crawfords-obsolete-public-utility-thinking-for-broadband/

http://phoenix-center.org/blog/archives/1075

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/technology/276609-the-broadband-economy-a-square-deal-all-around#ixzz2Hxq5HYas