[1st-mile-nm] CenturyLink - NM PRC Update

[Richard Lowenberg]

 CenturyLink Completes $258 Million New Mexico Broadband and Network 
 Investment

 Exceeds New Mexico Public Regulatory Commission Commitment by $3 
 Million - Completed Early

 http://news.centurylink.com/index.php?s=43&item=2469

 Jul 6, 2011

 ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., July 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CenturyLink, Inc. 
 (NYSE: CTL), which acquired Qwest Communications on April 1, today 
 announced that it completed ahead of schedule a $258 million capital 
 investment within specific categories ordered by the New Mexico Public 
 Regulatory Commission (PRC) under the 2007 Second Amended Settlement 
 Agreement (SASA), and added $3 million above the $255 million required 
 investment per the SASA.

 "We are proud that these particular investments are complete, were done 
 early and that we invested an additional $3 million. As a result, our 
 network is more reliable, we have more connected cities with greater 
 redundancy and improved access to higher broadband speeds," said Valerie 
 Dodd vice president and general manager for CenturyLink in New Mexico. 
 "We look forward to continued investment in bringing innovative products 
 and services to this marketplace."

 In February 2007, CenturyLink (at that time Qwest) committed to the PRC 
 to invest $255 million throughout New Mexico in five specific 
 categories, including broadband expansion. That effort focused on 
 increasing availability by interconnecting each of its central offices 
 in New Mexico. The goal was to expand broadband to 83 percent of New 
 Mexico's residents, and the company has reached 85 percent. In addition, 
 CenturyLink's broadband service now reaches an average of 75 percent of 
 customers in rural areas.

 The second category, central office redundancy and diversity, involved 
 building fiber routes and creating a secondary backbone to enhance 
 network reliability. The third category, cable rehabilitation, focused 
 on replacing more than 150 miles of aging cable throughout New Mexico. 
 The fourth and fifth categories were for network and advanced 
 telecommunications technology, in which investments for network 
 improvement and capacity augmentation were made.

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 Richard Lowenberg
 1st-Mile Institute
 Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
 505-989-9110 / 505-603-5200
 www.1st-mile.com
 rl at 1st-mile.com
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