CenturyLink Touts Gigabit Gains

CenturyLink (NYSE:CTL) is talking up its fiber network and gigabit Internet services. The telco says it now offers gigabit to residential and small business customers in parts of 17 states and, by the end of 2015, expects to have more than 700,000 households across the country enabled with gigabit-capable fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) technology.

Today, CenturyLink gigabit service is available in parts of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Washington and Utah.

CenturyLink first launched 1 Gbps service in Omaha in 2013 as part of a fiber network trial, in August 2014, it expanded that gigabit service to residential and business customers in 16 markets. In May, CenturyLink extended gigabit to additional small and midsized businesses (SMBs) located near the company's fiber network backbone or in fiber-fed multi-tenant unit office buildings, resulting in gigabit service being available to nearly 490,000 SMBs.

CenturyLink is also deploying its interactive Prism TV service in many cities where it is offering gigabit service and has secured franchise agreements.