CenturyLink

CenturyLink was an American telecommunications brand built through the consolidation of rural telephone companies, regional exchange carriers, and long-distance and enterprise-network businesses. Its roots reach back to Oak Ridge Telephone Company, established in Louisiana in 1930, and to the 1968 formation of Central Telephone and Electronics Corporation under Clarke M. Williams. The business expanded through acquisitions and name changes, becoming Century Telephone Enterprises, then CenturyTel, and finally CenturyLink in 2009 after the acquisition of Embarq. For consumer customers, CenturyLink became associated primarily with fixed-line communications: local and long-distance telephone service, broadband internet, fiber connectivity, and, in selected markets, television and related services. Its wireline footprint was concentrated in the United States, particularly in smaller cities, rural areas, and regions where it inherited incumbent telephone infrastructure. The brand’s service mix changed over time as traditional voice declined and broadband and fiber became more important. CenturyLink also developed a large business-services operation. Through its own network and the acquisition of Level 3 Communications, it offered enterprise connectivity, internet transit, wavelength and Ethernet services, colocation, managed networking, cybersecurity, unified communications, cloud connectivity, and other information-technology services. The 2017 Level 3 transaction materially increased the company’s international network reach and shifted its strategic emphasis toward business communications and global network services. In September 2020, CenturyLink, Inc. announced that it would change its corporate name to Lumen Technologies, Inc. The change was intended to distinguish the company’s strategic identity from the legacy CenturyLink consumer and local-telephone brand and to emphasize services delivered across its fiber, edge, cloud, and enterprise platforms. The rebrand did not immediately eliminate CenturyLink from the marketplace: Lumen continued to use CenturyLink for certain residential and small-business offerings, especially legacy broadband and telephone services, while marketing many enterprise products under Lumen or other product brands. CenturyLink is therefore best understood as a legacy telecommunications brand within Lumen rather than as a standalone listed company. Its history reflects the transition of the North American incumbent telephone sector from regulated local voice networks toward broadband, fiber, cloud connectivity, and managed digital infrastructure. The brand remains associated with consumer connectivity in portions of the United States, although Lumen’s corporate strategy and many newer enterprise offerings are presented under the Lumen name.

CenturyLink’s history is rooted in the development of independent telephone companies in the American South. Oak Ridge Telephone Company began operations in Louisiana in 1930. In 1968, Clarke M. Williams formed Central Telephone and Electronics Corporation, which acquired and operated telephone exchanges outside the major Bell System companies. The enterprise later became Century Telephone Enterprises and expanded through acquisitions of additional rural and regional telephone operations. The company adopted the CenturyTel name in 1998. During the 1990s and 2000s it broadened beyond local telephone service into wireless-related operations, broadband, long-distance communications, and other telecommunications activities. Its transformation accelerated when CenturyTel acquired Embarq in 2009. Embarq had been separated from Sprint and brought a significantly larger local telecommunications and broadband footprint. Following that transaction, the combined company adopted the CenturyLink name. CenturyLink continued to acquire regional assets and build a portfolio spanning consumer connectivity and business communications. Its consumer business centered on telephone and broadband networks, while its enterprise division provided managed networking, internet, data transport, cloud connectivity, hosting, and related services. The company’s network expansion reflected the wider industry movement away from voice-centric copper infrastructure and toward broadband, fiber, Ethernet, and IP-based services. In 2017, CenturyLink completed its acquisition of Level 3 Communications. Level 3 contributed extensive long-haul fiber, subsea and international connectivity, enterprise customers, internet backbone capabilities, and wholesale communications services. The combination made the company more internationally oriented and increased the relative importance of enterprise networking compared with its legacy local-exchange operations. The combined business retained CenturyLink as its corporate and consumer-facing identity for several years. The company announced in 2020 that it would change its corporate name to Lumen Technologies. Management presented Lumen as a new identity for a business focused on connecting people, data, applications, and cloud resources through fiber and digital infrastructure. CenturyLink continued as a service brand in portions of the residential and small-business market, particularly where customers used inherited local-network products. Enterprise and strategic communications activities increasingly used the Lumen name. The CenturyLink brand consequently represents both a historical telecommunications company and an ongoing legacy service identity. It is no longer the name of the publicly traded corporate parent, but it has not disappeared entirely from the U.S. communications market. Its development illustrates the consolidation of independent telephone companies, the rise of broadband, the integration of local and global network assets, and the continuing separation between legacy consumer brands and enterprise digital-infrastructure businesses.

1. 2020Corporate identity changes to Lumen Technologies

   The publicly traded parent changed its name from CenturyLink, Inc. to Lumen Technologies, Inc.; CenturyLink remained for selected legacy services.

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2. 2017Level 3 acquisition completed

   CenturyLink completed its acquisition of Level 3 Communications, adding global enterprise network and backbone assets.

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3. 2009Embarq acquisition and CenturyLink name

   After acquiring Embarq, CenturyTel adopted the CenturyLink name and substantially increased its local telecommunications and broadband footprint.

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4. 1998CenturyTel name adopted

   The company changed its corporate identity to CenturyTel as it expanded its regional telecommunications operations.

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5. 1968Central Telephone and Electronics Corporation is formed

   Clarke M. Williams formed the corporate predecessor that developed through acquisitions of independent telephone companies.

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6. 1930Oak Ridge Telephone Company begins operations

   The company’s historical lineage begins with Oak Ridge Telephone Company in Louisiana.

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A legacy U.S. incumbent telecommunications and broadband brand with an enterprise-network heritage, positioned within Lumen Technologies' broader fiber, communications, and digital-infrastructure portfolio.

• CenturyLink BroadbandConsumer broadband

  CenturyLink broadband connected residential and small-business customers through the company’s fixed-line access network. Depending on location, services used DSL, fiber, or other access technologies. The offering represented the brand’s principal consumer connection to the internet as traditional telephone usage declined.

• CenturyLink Fiber InternetFiber broadband

  Fiber internet was the higher-capacity part of CenturyLink’s consumer connectivity portfolio. It used fiber-to-the-premises infrastructure in selected markets and was positioned around faster internet access than legacy copper-based broadband. Availability and branding varied by geography as Lumen reorganized its consumer operations.

• CenturyLink BusinessBusiness telecommunications

  CenturyLink Business served small and medium-sized organizations with connectivity, voice, internet access, networking, and related communications services. Following the Lumen rebrand, many newer enterprise products were marketed under Lumen, but CenturyLink remained associated with portions of the legacy business portfolio.

• CenturyLink CloudCloud and managed services

  CenturyLink Cloud referred to cloud-computing and managed infrastructure services offered to business customers. The broader portfolio included hosting, cloud connectivity, managed networking, and data-center-related capabilities. After the Level 3 transaction and the Lumen rebrand, these services were increasingly organized and marketed under Lumen’s enterprise portfolio.

• 2020Lumen rebrand

  United States · Global enterprise markets

  CenturyLink’s corporate parent introduced Lumen Technologies as its new identity, presenting the company as a provider of fiber, cloud connectivity, edge, and digital-infrastructure services rather than primarily as a traditional telephone operator.

  Outcome. The Lumen name became the principal corporate and enterprise identity, while CenturyLink continued for selected consumer and legacy services.

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• 2020Corporate rebrand to Lumen TechnologiesStrategy

  Management determined that the CenturyLink identity no longer fully represented the company’s fiber, enterprise-network, cloud, and digital-infrastructure strategy.

  What changed. The corporate parent changed its legal name to Lumen Technologies while retaining CenturyLink for certain legacy consumer and small-business services.

  Aftermath. Lumen became the main corporate and enterprise brand, and CenturyLink continued as a narrower legacy service brand in selected U.S. markets.

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• 2017Acquisition of Level 3 CommunicationsM&A

  CenturyLink pursued Level 3 to expand its fiber, long-haul, international, wholesale, and enterprise communications capabilities.

  What changed. CenturyLink completed the acquisition and integrated Level 3 into its communications and business-services operations.

  Aftermath. The combined company had a more global enterprise-network profile and a broader platform for managed communications and cloud connectivity.

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• 2009Acquisition of EmbarqM&A

  CenturyTel sought greater scale and a larger telecommunications footprint through the purchase of Embarq, a company with substantial local-exchange and broadband operations.

  What changed. CenturyTel completed the Embarq acquisition and subsequently adopted the CenturyLink name.

  Aftermath. The transaction transformed the company’s scale and established CenturyLink as its principal corporate identity.

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• 2024Lumen announces leadership transition

  Lumen announced a transition in its chief executive leadership, affecting the corporate group that owns and operates the CenturyLink brand.

  Leadership change
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• 2020CenturyLink announces corporate rebrand to Lumen Technologies

  The company announced that CenturyLink, Inc. would become Lumen Technologies, Inc., while CenturyLink remained in use for selected legacy consumer and small-business services.

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• 2017CenturyLink completes acquisition of Level 3 Communications

  CenturyLink completed its acquisition of Level 3 Communications, combining a large U.S. local and broadband provider with a global enterprise communications network.

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1. Lumen Technologies history and company overview
2. CenturyLink completes acquisition of Level 3 Communications
3. CenturyLink to become Lumen Technologies
4. Lumen Technologies leadership transition
5. Embarq acquisition and CenturyLink name