CenturyLink
CenturyLink is Lumen Technologies' brand for copper-based DSL internet and phone service. After Lumen sold its 20-state local phone business to Brightspeed in 2022 and its consumer fiber business to AT&T in 2026, CenturyLink operates mainly in western states, where it is often one of few wired options in rural and suburban areas. Lumen reported about 1.5 million copper broadband subscribers at the end of 2024.
Score generated by AI agents based on publicly cited evidence and reviewed by the project maintainer. Not independently validated. Last assessed 2026-09-26. Score revised 2026-09-26: 62 → 52.
Score History
Timeline events are AI-curated from public reporting. Score trajectory is derived from documented events.
Central Telephone & Electronics was incorporated in 1968 as a small regulated telephone utility in rural Louisiana and grew as a rate-regulated rural local exchange carrier under state commission oversight. Its geographic monopolies were inherent to wireline telephony but checked by regulation. In 2002 it sold its wireless business to Alltel and bought Verizon's Alabama and Missouri local phone operations for about $2.2 billion, concentrating on rural wireline markets.
The 2009 Embarq merger created CenturyLink with about 7.5 million access lines in 33 states. The acquisition strategy prioritized scale over service improvement, deepening geographic monopoly in rural markets, and about 1,000 jobs were cut within six months. Landline cancellations were accelerating as households switched to mobile and cable, and CenturyLink began the debt-funded growth-through-acquisition strategy that would define its trajectory.
The $12.2 billion Qwest acquisition in April 2011 added about $11.8 billion of Qwest's debt and most of today's western footprint. In 2013 CenturyLink cut its dividend and authorized a $2 billion buyback, and in 2015 it accepted about $3 billion in Connect America Fund support to deliver just 10/1 Mbps rural service. Billing deception spread: the Internet Cost Recovery Fee appeared in 2014, price-lock promises were broken, and a 2017 whistleblower suit alleged widespread cramming. A 2014 multistate 911 outage drew a record $16 million FCC fine.
The roughly $34 billion Level 3 acquisition, including debt, left CenturyLink with about $36 billion of debt by early 2019 and put an enterprise-first strategy in charge while residential upgrades were deprioritized. A December 2018 outage took the network down for almost 37 hours and disrupted 911 calls, and the company wrote down $2.7 billion of consumer goodwill. The billing scandal came due in more than $38 million of state settlements in 2019-2020, alongside FCC 911 and cramming penalties, two DOJ contempt payments for breaching Level 3 merger conditions, and illegal pandemic disconnections. Rebranded as Lumen in 2020, the company agreed in 2021 to sell its 20-state local phone business to Apollo.
Lumen closed the $7.5 billion sale of its 20-state local phone business to Brightspeed in October 2022, then eliminated its dividend for a $1.5 billion buyback authorization and, under new CEO Kate Johnson, cut about 4% of staff in late 2023 and just under 7% in 2024 while slowing fiber buildout. Regulators in Washington, Minnesota and Oregon found service violations or ordered repairs, and Utah refused to release CenturyLink from carrier-of-last-resort duties. In 2025 Lumen agreed to sell its consumer fiber business to AT&T and relinquished all its remaining RDOF rural build commitments.
AT&T closed its $5.75 billion purchase of Lumen's consumer fiber business on February 2, 2026, leaving the CenturyLink name on copper DSL and landline service that Lumen calls a strong financial contribution, while its CFO says legacy voice is 'not our future.' CenturyLink is filing to discontinue legacy voice in low-demand wire centers and Lumen cut off wholesale service to reseller NT&T, while Washington bound the company to seven years of staffing, maintenance and outage-credit commitments and a $10.9 million penalty case moved to settlement. Satisfaction improved to 67 in the 2026 ACSI. The fiber business it sold is scored in earlier eras; this era covers what Lumen still runs under the CenturyLink name.
Alternatives
Satellite internet from SpaceX that works across CenturyLink's rural and suburban service area, including places where CenturyLink is the only wired option. Hardware and monthly prices vary by location and promotion, and some high-demand areas add a one-time demand surcharge. Latency is higher than fiber for gaming and video calls. For rural customers stuck with degrading DSL, this is the most practical escape route.
Community-owned broadband, such as Fort Collins Connexion in Colorado (where a Comcast- and CenturyLink-backed group spent $900,999 opposing the 2017 ballot measure that enabled it) or UTOPIA Fiber in Utah, can offer better speeds and service than aging DSL where it is available. Availability is limited, and incumbents including CenturyLink have campaigned against such networks. Check muninetworks.org for your area.
Fixed wireless home internet over T-Mobile's 5G network that needs no phone line, a practical switch for CenturyLink DSL customers where T-Mobile has capacity. It earned a 78 in the 2026 ACSI customer satisfaction study, compared with CenturyLink's 67. Speeds and availability depend on local network capacity, so check your address.
Dimensional Breakdown
Summaries below were written by AI agents based on the cited evidence. They are editorial interpretations, not independent research findings.
Dimension History
Timeline (68 events)
CenturyTel buys Verizon's Alabama and Missouri phone lines, exits wireless
CenturyTel completed its $1.177 billion purchase of Verizon's Missouri local exchange operations on August 31, 2002, after buying Verizon's Alabama local phone business for about $1.02 billion on July 1. It financed the deals partly with the roughly $1.59 billion it received for selling substantially all of its wireless operations to Alltel, concentrating the company on rural wireline markets.
Qwest settles SEC fraud charges for $250 million
Qwest Communications settled SEC charges of multi-faceted accounting fraud, agreeing to a $250 million civil penalty to be distributed to defrauded investors and to permanently maintain a chief compliance officer. The SEC alleged that between 1999 and 2002 Qwest fraudulently recognized over $3.8 billion in revenue. CenturyLink inherited Qwest's regulatory baggage and tarnished reputation when it acquired the company in 2011.
Qwest sues UTOPIA to block Utah municipal broadband
Qwest (later acquired by CenturyLink) filed a federal lawsuit against UTOPIA, Utah's multi-city municipal fiber network, alleging unfair competition. The suit accused UTOPIA of using its tax-exempt government status to let contractors sell services below market prices, and of attaching facilities to Qwest poles without permission. The case was an early example of incumbent opposition to community broadband.
CenturyTel merges with Embarq, forming CenturyLink
CenturyTel completed its stock-for-stock acquisition of Embarq Corporation, with aggregate merger consideration of about $6.1 billion, creating CenturyLink. The combined company served about 7.5 million access lines, more than 2.1 million broadband customers and more than 440,000 video subscribers in 33 states, deepening its position as the incumbent phone company across rural and suburban markets.
CenturyLink cuts about 1,000 jobs after Embarq merger
Within six months of the CenturyTel-Embarq merger, CenturyLink had cut about 1,000 jobs from its roughly 20,000-employee base, mostly information technology and finance positions at the former Embarq headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas. The company said the cuts were part of eliminating redundancy and a response to its shrinking wireline voice business, and that headcount impacts would continue over a two- to three-year integration period.
FCC approves CenturyLink-Qwest merger with broadband conditions
The FCC conditionally approved the CenturyLink-Qwest merger, requiring CenturyLink to deploy broadband at 4 Mbps to 4 million additional locations, offer low-income customers $10/month broadband, and double 12 Mbps and triple 40 Mbps lines. However, the FCC's own broadband definition would rise to 25 Mbps in 2015, rendering these commitments outdated before completion.
CenturyLink acquires Qwest for $12.2 billion
CenturyLink completed the $12.2 billion all-stock acquisition of Qwest Communications, assuming about $11.8 billion in Qwest debt. The deal combined the country's third- and fourth-largest traditional phone companies, making CenturyLink the third-largest landline phone company in the US, behind AT&T and Verizon. The debt burden would constrain investment in residential infrastructure for years to come.
CenturyLink cuts 400 Colorado jobs after Qwest merger
CenturyLink shed approximately 400 Colorado positions, roughly 5% of its state workforce, following the Qwest acquisition. The cuts targeted Qwest's corporate functions including accounting and human resources in Denver. This was part of broader post-merger workforce reductions as both companies had been cutting jobs amid declining landline subscriptions.
CenturyLink cuts dividend 26% and authorizes $2 billion buyback
CenturyLink's board authorized a $2.0 billion stock repurchase program to run through February 2015, funded primarily from free cash flow, and said it would cut the quarterly dividend from $0.725 to $0.54 per share. The company presented the move as part of a strategy to stabilize and grow revenue while it was losing landline customers.
CenturyLink introduces fabricated Internet Cost Recovery Fee
CenturyLink began charging customers a disguised 'Internet Cost Recovery Fee' starting at $0.99 per month, presented alongside legitimate taxes and regulatory fees. Colorado's later investigation found the fee had no regulatory basis and was a hidden price increase that CenturyLink kept as profit. The fee was gradually raised to $3.99 over three years.
FCC fines CenturyLink a record $16 million over multistate 911 outage
CenturyLink agreed to pay $16 million, then the largest 911-related penalty the FCC had levied, over an April 2014 outage in which a 911 routing facility in Colorado stopped directing calls to 81 call centers in seven states for about six hours. The outage affected about 11 million people and caused more than 6,600 missed 911 calls. Its vendor Intrado paid $1.4 million.
CenturyLink sues FCC over net neutrality rules
CenturyLink sued the FCC in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit over the Open Internet Order, which reclassified broadband as a Title II common carrier service, calling the order arbitrary, capricious and a violation of federal law. CenturyLink said the rules would 'chill innovation and investment,' despite the company's own history of underinvestment in rural broadband infrastructure.
CenturyLink accepts $3 billion in CAF subsidies for below-broadband rural service
CenturyLink accepted approximately $505.7 million annually for six years ($3 billion total) from the FCC's Connect America Fund to bring internet to 1.2 million rural households in 33 states. However, the required speed was only 10/1 Mbps, below the FCC's own 25/3 Mbps broadband definition adopted in January 2015. The subsidies reinforced CenturyLink's monopoly position in rural markets while delivering substandard speeds.
Whistleblower exposes CenturyLink cramming fraud scheme
Former CenturyLink employee Heidi Heiser filed a lawsuit in Arizona state court claiming she was fired after alerting CEO Glen Post to a scheme in which people with a personal incentive added services or lines to customer accounts without authorization. She estimated the unauthorized charges at 'many millions' of dollars. CenturyLink shares fell close to 7% intraday after Bloomberg reported the suit.
CenturyLink completes $34 billion Level 3 acquisition
CenturyLink closed its acquisition of Level 3 Communications in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at approximately $34 billion including debt, dramatically expanding its enterprise fiber network. The acquisition signaled CenturyLink's strategic pivot toward enterprise customers at the expense of residential service investment.
Comcast- and CenturyLink-backed group spends $900,000 opposing Fort Collins municipal broadband
Priorities First Fort Collins, described as the front for Comcast and CenturyLink, spent $900,999 campaigning against a Fort Collins, Colorado ballot measure that cleared the way for a municipal broadband utility. The grassroots group backing the measure spent about $15,000. The measure passed with 57% of the vote despite the opposition campaign.
CenturyLink lobbied for net neutrality repeal, then asked FCC to police interconnection
After lobbying for the repeal of net neutrality, CenturyLink, now the owner of Level 3, urged the FCC in a filing to remain available to resolve interconnection issues under Title I authority. Techdirt argued this illustrated a pattern of opposing regulation that constrains telcos while seeking regulatory intervention when it benefits the company.
Evidence mounts that CenturyLink is abandoning residential broadband upgrades
Stop the Cap reported that CenturyLink was signaling it would fund residential broadband upgrades only where costs were low and returns high, relying on the FCC's Connect America Fund for rural areas, as former Level 3 executives took over management. Outgoing CEO Glen Post's goal of giving 90% of homes at least 40 Mbps by 2020 appeared doomed as the company refocused on business and enterprise customers.
37-hour nationwide outage disrupts 911 service across 39 states
An equipment failure in CenturyLink's Denver node, catastrophically worsened by a network configuration error, took down CenturyLink's fiber network nationwide for almost 37 hours. The FCC found that four malformed management packets kept replicating across the network. As many as 22 million customers in 39 states were affected, including about 17 million customers in 29 states who lacked reliable access to 911, and at least 886 calls to 911 were not delivered.
CenturyLink records $2.7 billion goodwill writedown on consumer business
CenturyLink recorded a $2.726 billion non-cash goodwill impairment charge for its Consumer business unit in Q4 2018 following its annual goodwill analysis. The charge produced a $1.733 billion net loss for 2018 and signaled that the residential business was losing value.
CenturyLink cuts dividend 54% to speed debt reduction
CenturyLink cut its annual dividend from $2.16 to $1.00 per share. CEO Jeff Storey said the move was driven by a plan to accelerate deleveraging toward a lower net-debt-to-EBITDA target, against a debt load of about $36 billion. Management had repeatedly expressed confidence in the dividend throughout 2018.
FCC settles with CenturyLink for $550,000 over cramming
CenturyLink agreed to pay $550,000 and adopt a compliance plan to settle an FCC Enforcement Bureau investigation into the placement of unauthorized third-party charges and fees on consumers' bills, an illegal practice known as cramming.
Washington AG secures $6.1 million for hidden fees affecting 650,000 customers
Washington AG Bob Ferguson announced CenturyLink would pay $6.1 million over charges added to bills without accurate disclosure, affecting 650,000 Washingtonians. Undisclosed fees included an Internet Cost Recovery Fee of $0.99-$1.99 per month and $2.49 broadcast and sports fees; the company also failed to give promised discounts to about 16,000 customers.
Colorado AG secures $8.5 million for hidden fees and overbilling
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced CenturyLink would pay $8,476,000 for charging hidden fees, falsely advertising price-lock guarantees, and failing to deliver promised discounts and refunds. The investigation found evidence dating to 2014, including the disguised Internet Cost Recovery Fee that grew from 99 cents to $3.99, and that sales agents had incentives to mislead customers about prices.
CenturyLink pays $4 million Oregon settlement for deceptive practices
Oregon's Attorney General secured a $4 million settlement with CenturyLink over deceptive billing and advertising practices, undisclosed fees, and failing to apply promised discounts. Oregon DOJ opened its investigation in 2014 after consumer complaints, which have since exceeded 1,200. CenturyLink also refunded $672,000 to 8,212 overcharged Oregon customers and had to stop charging new customers the Internet Cost Recovery Fee.
Minnesota AG obtains $8.9 million settlement for fraudulent overbilling
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison secured an $8.9 million settlement after CenturyLink potentially overbilled more than 300,000 Minnesota customers. The company falsely promised discounts, failed to honor quoted prices, and charged hidden fees. CenturyLink was required to fundamentally reform billing practices, disclose true prices, and ban sham internet fees.
Arizona AG secures nearly $11 million for deceptive billing
CenturyLink agreed to pay nearly $11 million to settle the Arizona Attorney General's allegations of deceptive and unfair advertising and billing. Between 2013 and 2016 it promised Arizona customers about $1.9 million in discounts they never received, and it charged an undisclosed Internet Cost Recovery Fee that effectively raised prices for customers on its price-lock promotion. The total included $1.9 million in refunds, $2 million for fiber improvements and $7 million to the state.
CenturyLink illegally disconnects customers during pandemic moratorium
Despite Governor Inslee's emergency proclamation prohibiting telecom disconnections during the COVID-19 pandemic, CenturyLink disconnected 1,099 Washington telephone customers between March 2020 and September 2021. Sixty-seven customers were disconnected more than once. The company later paid $825,000 in restitution and $692,250 in UTC penalties.
Lumen NG911 outage hits seven states; FCC settlement of $3.8 million
On September 28, 2020, a configuration error by Lumen's subcontractor Intrado caused a one-hour-17-minute outage of the NG911 services CenturyLink/Lumen provided to public safety answering points in Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah, and Lumen failed to notify some PSAPs. In December 2021 Lumen agreed to pay $3.8 million, the largest penalty in an FCC settlement round covering four companies.
FCC settles 2018 outage probe, fines CenturyLink $500,000
CenturyLink agreed to pay a $500,000 civil penalty to resolve the FCC Enforcement Bureau's investigation into whether it violated Commission rules in the multistate December 2018 outage that lasted 37 hours and disrupted 911 service.
CWA report documents Lumen broadband discrimination against low-income areas
A joint CWA/NDIA report found Lumen was failing to invest in fiber-optic buildout in lower-income, rural, and Tribal communities. Only 7% of Lumen's fiber network was in census blocks with median incomes below $35,000, while 42% was in blocks above $75,000. Only 5.8% of rural county households had fiber access. Lumen had cut over 4,500 union jobs since 2017.
Securities class action settles for $55 million over cramming fraud
The federal court in Minnesota gave final approval to a $55 million cash settlement of the CenturyLink securities class action, led by the State of Oregon on behalf of its public employee pension fund. Plaintiffs alleged that CenturyLink and its executives made false and misleading statements concerning its billing practices during a class period running from March 1, 2013 through July 12, 2017. The first of several securities suits was filed on June 21, 2017, days after the Heiser whistleblower suit, and the class period ended when the Minnesota Attorney General announced its consumer-protection lawsuit on July 12, 2017.
Minnesota regulators reject CenturyLink bid to drop landline service rules
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission unanimously rejected CenturyLink's petition to eliminate or modify rules requiring landline providers to clear 95% of out-of-service reports within 24 hours and answer 90% of customer calls within 20 seconds. The Attorney General's Office and Commerce Department opposed the request, and Commerce separately reported that the company was violating the rules.
Lumen sells ILEC operations in 20 states to Apollo for $7.5 billion
Lumen agreed to sell its incumbent local exchange carrier operations in 20 states, mostly in the Midwest and Southeast, to Apollo Global Management funds for $7.5 billion, retaining its CenturyLink-branded assets in 16 states. The divested operations became Brightspeed when the deal closed in October 2022. The sale accelerated Lumen's exit from residential service in much of its footprint.
Lumen pays $275,000 over second violation of Level 3 merger conditions
Lumen paid $275,000 to resolve the DOJ's second civil contempt claim for violating court-ordered conditions from the Level 3 acquisition. CenturyLink had sent more than 100 marketing emails to former Level 3 customers in the Boise-Nampa, Idaho area who had switched away, despite being barred from soliciting them. This followed a $250,000 payment in August 2020.
Lumen causes multiple 911 outages in North and South Dakota
Lumen suffered two 911 outages in a single week: a nearly five-hour outage affecting 911 calls in South Dakota on February 17, whose two affected call centers were not notified until days later, and a more-than-seven-hour outage tied to its Bismarck, North Dakota switch on February 22, which caused hundreds of emergency calls to fail. In October 2023 the FCC proposed an $867,000 fine.
Lumen eliminates dividend, launches $1.5 billion buyback program
Lumen's board eliminated the $1.00 annual dividend and authorized a stock buyback program of up to $1.5 billion over two years. Shares fell more than 17% on the announcement. The dividend had already been cut 54% in 2019. Rather than redirecting freed cash to residential infrastructure repair, the buyback prioritized shareholder returns over service quality.
Washington UTC fines CenturyLink $1.3 million for 2018 911 outage
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission fined CenturyLink $1,315,000 for its role in the December 2018 911 outage, which lasted nearly 50 hours statewide and left at least 13,000 911 calls uncompleted in a state of about 7.4 million residents. The commission found the outage stemmed from a preventable technical error and network design. CenturyLink had previously paid $2.8 million for a 2014 911 outage.
Washington UTC fines Lumen $923,000 for pandemic disconnections
The Washington UTC fined CenturyLink $923,000 (later reduced to $692,250) for illegally disconnecting 923 telephone customers between March 2020 and September 2021, violating the COVID-19 moratorium on service disconnections. Combined with the AG's separate $825,000 settlement covering 1,099 affected customers, total pandemic penalties exceeded $1.5 million.
CenturyLink and Comcast fail to derail Bountiful municipal fiber
The Utah Taxpayers Association, which counts Comcast and CenturyLink/Lumen as members and conference sponsors, ran a petition drive to force a public vote on the $48 million in bonds Bountiful, Utah authorized for a community-owned fiber network. The effort failed. It continued a pattern of incumbent opposition to municipal broadband dating back to Qwest's UTOPIA lawsuit.
Lumen announces 1,200 layoffs, 4% workforce reduction
CEO Kate Johnson announced a reorganization cutting about 4% of Lumen's roughly 30,000 employees (about 1,200 people), expected with other initiatives to save about $300 million a year. The cuts came amid nearly $20 billion in debt and declining revenue. A separate round in 2024 cut just under 7% of the workforce.
Lumen dials back fiber buildout pace
Alongside its 4% layoff, Lumen said it would build fiber to 500,000 new locations in 2024, matching 2023, instead of stepping up to 800,000 a year as previously planned. The CFO said the business segment remained the best use of incremental investment, and an analyst asked whether Lumen should sell its consumer unit.
Class action alleges CenturyLink broke 'Price for Life' promise
A class action filed in federal court in Oregon alleges that CenturyLink raised prices in 2023 for customers enrolled in its Price for Life promotion, launched in 2017, even though they had complied with its terms. The suit seeks damages for breach of contract, violations of Oregon's Unlawful Trade Practices Act and unjust enrichment.
CenturyLink raises DSL prices $5/month, ends Price for Life guarantee
CenturyLink raised monthly prices by $5 for some DSL customers in January 2024 and stopped offering its 'Price for Life' promotion, despite criticism for raising prices on customers who had been promised Price for Life deals. DSL customers who lease CenturyLink equipment pay a $15 monthly fee on top of taxes and fees.
Utah denies CenturyLink carrier-of-last-resort exemption
The Utah Public Service Commission denied Qwest Corporation d/b/a CenturyLink's petition for a statewide exemption from its carrier-of-last-resort obligations, which would have ended its duty to provide voice service to new customer locations regardless of cost. CenturyLink had argued that competition made the obligation unnecessary.
Lumen layoffs expand to nearly 7% of total workforce
Lumen said it would shed just under 7% of its workforce in 2024, with most cuts voluntary, as it 'reshapes and right-sizes' through automation and AI. With about 28,000 employees, that is roughly 1,960 jobs. The round followed the 4% reduction announced in late 2023.
Minnesota PUC finds CenturyLink violated service quality rules
In a 5-0 ruling, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission found that CenturyLink violated state service quality rules and must rehabilitate its network statewide, citing photos of equipment in disrepair. It ordered the company to halve repair appointment windows from eight hours to four and adopt a preventive maintenance program proposed by CWA.
Washington UTC issues $133,500 penalty for excessive wait times
The Washington UTC fined CenturyLink $133,500 for 178 violations: 169 for failing to provide required documents to the commission and nine for failing to connect customers to a live representative within 60 seconds of choosing that option.
Twin Cities CenturyLink landline customers go a month or more without service
The Minnesota PUC received 107 complaints about CenturyLink landline service in December 2024, 64% involving outages, compared with 29 a year earlier; some customers' only phone had been dead for more than a month. CenturyLink blamed a spree of copper cable thefts. The PUC had received 490 outage notices from CenturyLink customers in 2024, up 24% from 2023.
Washington UTC staff recommend $15.6 million in penalties
Washington UTC staff recommended penalties of $15,567,770 against CenturyLink after documenting 1,663,664 violations covering service quality, outages, service interruptions and complaint handling, based on data from April 2023 to March 2024 and complaints through January 2025. Staff called it one of the largest penalties ever recommended by commission staff. Staff found 8,008 violations of complaint response requirements alone.
Lumen sells residential fiber business to AT&T for $5.75 billion
Lumen agreed to sell substantially all of its consumer fiber-to-the-home business, about 1 million fiber customers across more than 4 million locations in 11 states, to AT&T for $5.75 billion. Lumen kept its copper-based CenturyLink customers. The deal was expected to close in the first half of 2026.
Lumen defaults on 41,000 RDOF locations across eight states
Lumen notified the FCC it was relinquishing more than 41,000 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund locations across eight states and 153 census block groups, more than half of the locations it won in the 2020 auction. Lumen gave no reason, saying only that it understood it would lose further support and may be subject to non-compliance rules.
Wisconsin settles with CenturyLink for $450,000 over price lock violations
Wisconsin DATCP announced a $450,000 settlement with CenturyLink for 240 alleged violations of consumer protection law. From 2015 to 2017, CenturyLink advertised 'price lock' subscriptions but added undisclosed broadband cost recovery fees that gradually increased from $1.99 to $3.99, effectively breaking the price-lock promise.
Washington approves lighter regulation for CenturyLink with outage credits
The Washington UTC approved a revised settlement placing CenturyLink's five local phone companies under an alternative form of regulation, after rejecting an earlier version in September 2024 for lacking service-quality incentives. The approved deal requires automatic bill credits for outages lasting 24 hours, doubled credits when CenturyLink misapplies them, and limits of three discontinuance requests and 500 affected customers a year in areas without reasonable alternatives.
Lumen books $46 million giveback for leaving RDOF
On its second-quarter 2025 earnings call, CFO Chris Stansbury said Lumen had withdrawn from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund after agreeing to sell its consumer fiber assets to AT&T, reporting a $46 million one-time revenue and adjusted EBITDA giveback. He said the decision reflected a shift toward infrastructure for enterprise, public sector and wholesale customers. Lumen put its legacy copper broadband penetration at about 7%.
Oregon regulators open penalty case over CenturyLink's Jacksonville service
The Oregon PUC set up a contested case on the Citizens' Utility Board's motion for penalties against Lumen for failing to keep a 24/7 dedicated service line required by earlier orders for the Jacksonville area, where a resident reported four widespread outages in ten days in June 2025. In June the commission had also required Lumen to file a statewide service quality performance plan.
CenturyLink launches automatic outage credits
CenturyLink began giving prorated daily credits to customers who lose service for more than 24 hours or have significant interruptions, and said it would double the credit if one was not applied. The company attributed some outages to copper theft.
CWA wins neutrality and successorship terms in Lumen contract
CWA District 7 members reached a tentative agreement with Lumen that expands union neutrality to all of Lumen and its subsidiaries across the union's 15-state region, strengthens successorship language so members keep their contract if any part of the Qwest business is sold, and includes signing bonuses and 4% annual raises. CWA said the AT&T fiber deal had offered workers no protection.
Washington settlement binds CenturyLink to seven years of service standards
Washington UTC staff approved a settlement allowing CenturyLink to transfer part of its fiber network to AT&T. CenturyLink must meet staffing and maintenance standards for seven years, fund repairs annually, invest $2 million to upgrade outdated phone facilities, keep Price for Life customers' rates, give a $40 credit for missed technician appointments and provide a free temporary line during outages of 10 days. AT&T must invest at least $80 million in Washington fiber over two years.
AT&T closes purchase of Lumen's consumer fiber, leaving CenturyLink copper-only
Lumen completed the $5.75 billion cash sale of its Mass Markets fiber-to-the-home business in 11 states, including Quantum Fiber, to AT&T: more than 1 million fiber customers and 4 million fiber-enabled locations. Lumen kept its copper-based consumer services, which it said continue to provide a strong ongoing financial contribution, and planned to use about $4.8 billion to retire all super-priority debt, bringing debt below $13 billion.
Washington UTC staff cut CenturyLink penalty request to $10.9 million after error
UTC staff said a calculation error had inflated their April 2025 recommendation. They revised the count of potential violations from 1,663,664 to 739,302 and the recommended penalty from about $15.5 million to about $10.9 million, which staff said was still the largest penalty they had ever requested.
CenturyLink files to discontinue legacy voice in Iowa and Utah wire centers
Qwest Corporation d/b/a CenturyLink QC asked the FCC for authority to discontinue legacy voice service in the Laurens and Renwick, Iowa, and Springdale, Utah, wire centers, calling the service outdated and prohibitively expensive to maintain. Only 94 customers, about 4% of living units in those areas, still subscribed.
Washington penalty hearing canceled as CenturyLink and staff move to settle
The Washington UTC suspended the procedural schedule in the CenturyLink complaint case, canceled the April 6-7 evidentiary hearing and required settlement documents. After deadline extensions, the commission set a settlement hearing for September 28, 2026.
Lumen CEO's 2025 pay rises to $24.9 million
Lumen's 2026 proxy statement reported CEO Kate Johnson's 2025 total compensation as $24,936,641, and the median employee's as $96,065, a pay ratio of about 260 to 1. Her reported 2024 compensation had been $10.5 million.
CenturyLink satisfaction rises to 67 in 2026 ACSI
CenturyLink's non-fiber internet service scored 67 in the 2026 American Customer Satisfaction Index, up 8% from 62, but still below the non-fiber segment average of 71. Among non-fiber providers it ranked above only Optimum, Xtream and Frontier.
Lumen cuts about 90 channel roles in second 2026 layoff
Lumen eliminated about 90 roles in its Global Partner Solutions team, in what Channel Dive called its second major workforce reduction of 2026, and stopped paying compensation on new voice sales. The company said it was aligning its workforce with its strategy as the trusted network for AI.
Lumen ends voice sales, calls legacy services 'not our future'
On its second-quarter 2026 call, Lumen said it had announced end of sale for voice. CFO Chris Stansbury said it would be aggressive about end of life and would meet large-customer and regulatory obligations, but beyond that the business was not its future. CEO Kate Johnson said the company had a huge number of customers with very small monthly bills and no other services. Its legacy portfolio, including voice and copper services, fell 15%.
Lumen's wholesale cutoff forces reseller NT&T out of five states
Nebraska Technology and Telecommunications asked the FCC to discontinue all voice and data service in Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota, affecting about 3,756 customers given about six weeks to find another provider, after Lumen said it would stop providing wholesale local exchange and long-distance service. Lumen told Fierce only that portfolio changes would be communicated responsibly.
Evidence (60 citations)
D1: User Value Erosion
D2: Business Customer Exploitation
D3: Shareholder Extraction
D4: Lock-in & Switching Costs
D5: Twiddling & Algorithmic Opacity
D6: Dark Patterns
D7: Advertising & Monetization Pressure
D8: Competitive Conduct
D9: Labor & Governance
D10: Regulatory & Legal Posture
Scoring Log (8 entries)
Removed typed-in site scores from alternatives text (they go stale on re-score; the page shows live scores). No other changes.
Checked 89 items + prose. 23 verified, 50 corrected (5 date-only), 12 re-sourced, 4 removed. Invented specifics removed: BBB F rating with 1.08/5 score, '75+ minute' hold times, '$20+' drip-pricing bill inflation. Major fixes: Embarq merger was 7.5M lines/33 states (not 17M/37); Level 3 deal ~$34B not $25B; CEO 2024 pay $10.5M not $9.6M; debt $17.9B not $17.3B; ACSI 62 was not last; UTC fine 'one of the largest' not a record; many wrong dates (WA AG, Oregon, FCC $500K, DOJ $275K, CWA report, layoffs); DSLReports source dead, re-sourced; outdated 37-state description replaced.
62->52. Scored the copper-only CenturyLink Lumen kept after AT&T bought its consumer fiber (closed 2026-02-02). D1 8->7 (correction: UTC staff revised violations 1,663,664->739,302 and penalty $15.6M->$10.9M after a calculation error; fact audit struck 'lowest ACSI'/BBB/hold-time claims; ACSI 2026 up to 67), D3 6->5 (recalibration: no dividend/buyback since 2022 program, AT&T proceeds retired debt; cost-cutting in service fits 4-5), D4 7->5 (recalibration: no contracts/ETFs/overage fees, own modems allowed, copper broadband penetration ~7%; lock-in geographic only), D5 5->4 (recalibration: fabricated fees ended with 2019-20 settlements; current fees modest), D6 7->5 (recalibration: score rested on 2013-2019 conduct now scored in its eras; current = call/chat cancellation, $200 equipment charge, Price for Life suit), D7 5->4 (correction: fact audit removed industry-wide 45% figure; no caps/overage), D8 6->5 (correction: fact audit narrowed Fort Collins role and removed USTelecom/RDOF-blocking claims), D9 6->5 (event: Oct 2025 CWA neutrality/successorship agreement; small 2026 cuts; 260:1 pay ratio). D2 and D10 unchanged. Eras: first era re-dated 1968-01-01->1968-04-30 (founding); 'Post-Qwest Debt Burden' re-dated 2013-01-01->2011-04-01 (Qwest close); merged 'Level 3 & Billing Scandal' (2017-11-01) + 'Multi-State Settlements' (2020-01-01) -> 'Level 3 Pivot & Settlements' at 2017-11-01; 'Residential Abandonment' re-dated 2023-11-01->2022-10-03 (Brightspeed close); final era re-dated 2026-02-15->2026-02-02 and relabeled 'Cascading Service Crisis'->'Copper-Only Remnant' (AT&T close); 'Merger-Driven Expansion' kept. Since Sept 2025: AT&T fiber sale closed; UTC penalty revised and moved to settlement (hearing 2026-09-28); WA 7-year service commitments; CenturyLink QC voice discontinuance filings; voice end of sale and 'not our future'; NT&T wholesale cutoff; CEO pay $24.9M; ACSI 67; CWA agreement. Leads resolved: FCC 911 settlement = 2020 NG911 ($3.8M, already recorded); no FCC RDOF forfeiture found, Lumen reported a $46M giveback. Alternatives: Municipal Fiber text fixed; added T-Mobile 5G Home Internet.
Checked 21 removed/trimmed claims: 3 restored, 6 partly restored, 12 confirmed removed, 0 already present. Restored: securities class period Mar 2013-Jul 2017 (timeline update, BLBG case page); Qwest penalty paid in two $125M installments (evidence add, Qwest 2004 10-K); Brightspeed's 6.5M locations and CWA concerns on the Apollo sale (evidence adds, Fierce 2022-10-03 and CWA 2021-08-17). Partly restored: UTOPIA delay, not legal costs (evidence add, Utah audit 2012-08); CenturyTel ranked fourth-largest LEC, not 'largest independent' with 17M lines in 37 states (evidence add, CenturyTel 2009 10-K); Heiser follow-ons: securities suits and Minnesota AG suit plus a board special committee that found no cramming, but no multistate AG probes (timeline 31 update and evidence add, Fierce 2017-12-07); Fort Collins spending on track for a city record and Connexion $59.95 gigabit, but not 'nearly doubling the record' (evidence adds, Community Networks 2017-10-25 and 2019-08-30); CWA concerns on the AT&T deal, but not '95%' (evidence add, CWA 2025-05-27); CWA contractor allegation dated 2021, not 2024 (evidence add, CWA District 3). Confirmed removed: 2011 BBB bill figures, 25,000 Embarq employees, USTelecom lobbying, Stop the Cap 40 Mbps/20% figure, goodwill 'overestimated after Level 3', FCC cramming tied to whistleblower, WA AG 'largest' claim, 'realigning focus' quote, 75-minute hold times, ILSR 80% monopoly figure, Glassdoor reviews, $617,557 PAC figure.
Triaged 2026-06-29; no rescore warranted (no material change since baseline, or changes sub-threshold).
Updated Starlink pricing: hardware now $279-$349 (was $599), plans now $40-$80/month (was ~$120/month). Removed outdated 'no data caps' claim.