[1st-mile-nm] Is Omaha a Turning Point for CenturyLink? No.

[Christopher Mitchell]

Given how little CenturyLink actually has to invest, I wanted to set the
record straight with what communities can expect from the third largest
telephone company in America.

http://muninetworks.org/content/even-after-omaha-communities-cannot-count-centurylink-connectivity

In short, Omaha is a fluke not a new strategy.
----------------

CenturyLink is a massive telephone company struggling to remain relevant as
we transition to mobile phones and require connections much faster
than DSL<http://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term9>delivers.
Though the Omaha gigabit announcement may seem to be a monumental shift for
this company, it actually is not. It is a blip on the radar - an important
blip but a blip nonetheless.

The Omaha pilot does not represent a sudden change of CenturyLink strategy
or capacity. Part of West Omaha has a unique history that prompted this
investment. The vast majority of communities in CenturyLink territory still
have no hope for upgrades beyond the basic DSL they offer today. Sadly,
this already-outdated technology will only fall further behind in coming
years.

First, if you missed it, CenturyLink has announced a 1 Gbps pilot project
in Omaha, Nebraska <http://www.omaha.com/article/20130501/MONEY/705019865>.
This is considerably more newsworthy that AT&T's toothless
fiber-to-the-press-release response to Austin's Google
Fiber<http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Why-ATTs-Promise-To-Bring-1-Gbps-to-Austin-is-Mostly-Empty-123807>
.

CenturyLink is a massive corporation in a tough spot. It operates in 38
states and in each one, subscribers are fleeing slow DSL for faster
networks and moving from landlines to wireless devices. CenturyLink does
not have enough revenue for the upgrades most communities need.

CenturyLink deserves some praise for this gigabit trial because it
recognizes the need to upgrade old networks to offer faster, more reliable
connections. And it is symmetrical<http://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term24>,
offering the sameupload <http://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term28> speeds
as downstream <http://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term8> whereas the
Verizon FiOS <http://muninetworks.org/glossary/1#term11> network tends to
prioritize downstream at the expense of up.

For years, CenturyLink has told communities that basic DSL is just fine.
We'll probably still hear that talking point in many communities from
CenturyLink's government affairs staff. But this project is an admission
that America needs better networks.

*Why Omaha*?

Read the rest here:

http://muninetworks.org/content/even-after-omaha-communities-cannot-count-centurylink-connectivity


Christopher Mitchell
Director, Telecommunications as Commons Initiative
Institute for Local Self-Reliance

http://www.muninetworks.org
@communitynets
612-276-3456 x209
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