Lumen Technologies Profile
Lumen Technologies, Inc. (Lumen) operates as a facilities-based technology and communications company that provides a broad array of integrated products and services to domestic and global business customers and domestic mass markets customers. The company operates one of the world's most interconnected networks. The company's platform empowers its customers to swiftly adjust digital programs to meet immediate demands, create efficiencies, and accelerate market access, which allows its customers to rapidly evolve their IT programs to address dynamic changes.
The company conducts its operations under the following three brands:
Lumen, which is the company's flagship brand for serving the enterprise and wholesale markets.
Quantum Fiber, which is the company's brand for providing fiber-based services to residential and small business customers.
CenturyLink, which is the company's long-standing brand for providing mass-marketed copper-based services, managed for cash flow and optimal efficiency.
With approximately 170,000 on-net buildings and 350,000 route miles of fiber optic cable globally, the company is among the largest providers of communications services to domestic and global enterprise customers. The company's terrestrial fiber optic long-haul network throughout North America and the Asia Pacific connects to metropolitan fiber networks that it operates.
Divestitures
On November 1, 2023, affiliates of Level 3 Parent, LLC sold the company's operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (the EMEA business).
Strategy
The key elements of the company's strategy are to strengthen its digital self-service product ordering platforms; expand its offering of secure edge computing services; create a more adaptive network; expand its network capacity through its Quantum Fiber buildout plan and other initiatives; monetize its non-core assets; and manage its non-fiber business.
Network
The company's network, through which it provides most of its products and services, consists of fiber-optic and copper cables, high-speed transport equipment, electronics, voice switches, data switches, routers, and various other equipment. The company operates part of its network with leased assets, and a substantial portion of its equipment with licensed software.
As of December 31, 2023, the company's network (owned and leased) included approximately 350,000 route miles of fiber optic plant and multiple gateway and transmission facilities used in connection with operating its network throughout North America.
As of December 31, 2023, the company's domestic network connected to approximately 170,000 buildings, which it refers to as Fiber On-net buildings, serving its enterprise customer base and approximately 21.8 million broadband-enabled units capable of serving its Mass Markets customer base. As of December 31, 2023, approximately 3.7 million of the company's Mass Markets broadband-enabled units were capable of receiving services from its fiber-based infrastructure, with the remainder connected with copper-based infrastructure. The company's domestic network also included at such date central office and other equipment that enables it to provide telephone service as an ILEC.
Although, the company owns most of its network, it leases a substantial portion of its core fiber network from several other communication companies under arrangements that will periodically need to be renewed or replaced to support its current network operations.
As a critical infrastructure provider, the company is a constant target of cyber-attacks from a wide range of intruders, including advanced persistent threat actors. The company develops and maintains systems and programs designed to protect against cyber-attacks and network outages.
Sales and Marketing
Sales Channels
The company's enterprise sales and marketing approach focuses on solving complex customer problems with advanced technology and network solutions - striving to make core networks services compatible with digital tools. The company also relies on its call center personnel and a variety of channel partners to promote sales of services that meet the needs of its customers. To meet the needs of different customers, the company's offerings include both stand-alone services and bundled services designed to provide a complete offering of integrated services.
The company's business customers range from small business offices to the world's largest global enterprise customers. The company's direct sales representatives generally market the company's business services to members of in-house IT departments or other highly-sophisticated customers with deep technological experience. These individuals typically satisfy their IT requirements by contracting with the company or a rapidly evolving group of competitors, or by deploying in-house solutions. The company also markets its products and services through inbound call centers, telemarketing and third parties, including telecommunications agents, system integrators, value-added resellers and other telecommunications firms. The company supports its distribution through digital advertising, events, television advertising, website promotions and public relations. The company maintains local offices in most major and secondary markets within the U.S. and many of the primary markets of the other countries in which it provides services.
Similarly, the company's sales and marketing approach to its mass market customers emphasizes customer-oriented sales, marketing and service with a local presence. The company's approach includes marketing its products and services primarily through direct sales representatives, inbound call centers, telemarketing and third parties, including retailers, satellite television providers, door to door sales agents and digital marketing firms.
Segments
The company operates through two segments, Business and Mass Markets.
Business Segment: Under its Business segment, the company provides its products and services under four sales channels to meet the needs of its enterprise and commercial customers; and
Mass Markets Segment: Under its Mass Markets segment, the company provides products and services to residential and small business customers.
Products and Services
As of December 31, 2023, the company categorized its products and services revenue among the following product categories for the Business segment:
Grow, which includes products and services that the company anticipates will grow, including:
Dark Fiber: The company controls an extensive array of unlit optical fiber known as dark fiber, which has been laid but not yet been equipped with the equipment necessary for it to transmit data. The company provides access to this unlit optical fiber to customers who are interested in building their networks with this high-bandwidth, highly secure optical technology. The company also provides professional services to engineer these networks, and in some cases, manage them for customers;
Edge Cloud Services: The company provides access to both public and private cloud solutions that allow its customers to optimize by offloading workloads. Lumen's cloud access products are designed to leverage the company's network edge to provide low-latency secure services for its customers. Additionally, the company provides cloud orchestration tools that allow customers to shift work between cloud environments dynamically;
Internet Protocol (IP): The company's IP services provide global internet access over a high performance, diverse network. The company's fiber network spans approximately 350,000 route miles globally with extensive off-net access solutions across North America and the Asia Pacific;
Managed Security Services: The company provides enterprise security solutions that help its customers secure networks, mitigate malicious attacks and identify potential security threats. These services include DDoS mitigation, remote and premise-based firewalls, professional consulting and management services, and threat intelligence services;
Software-Defined Wide Area Networks (SD WAN): The company offers Lumen-managed and co-managed SD-WAN solutions to help reduce the complexity and business risk of network transformation on a single, automated platform that coordinates the full spectrum of connectivity types. The company's tools, technology and hands-on expertise provide the ability to design, deploy and evolve with business needs while maintaining complete visibility, security and control;
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE): The company offers Lumen Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) as a comprehensive network and security solution using a cloud-first architecture, centered around zero-trust security principles. The service is delivered from a choice of multiple SASE software partners, offers flexible service management options, and is available on its IP backbone with several access options to connect and protect customer networks;
Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C): The company provides access to various unified communications platforms. This offering includes both individual, license-based service models and more robust options that transform a customer's inbound and outbound calling platform; and
Optical Services: The company delivers high bandwidth optical wavelength networks to customers requiring an end-to-end solution with ethernet technology for a scalable amount of bandwidth connecting sites or providing high-speed access to cloud computing resources.
Nurture, which includes the company's more mature offerings, such as:
Ethernet: The company delivers a robust array of networking services built on ethernet technology. Ethernet services include point-to-point and multi-point equipment configurations that facilitate data transmissions across metropolitan areas and larger enterprise-class wide area networks. The company's ethernet technology is also used by wireless service providers for data transmission via its fiber-optic cables connected to their towers; and
VPN Data Networks: Leveraging its extensive fiber-optic network, the company creates private networks tailored to its customers' needs. These technologies enable service providers, enterprises and government entities to streamline multiple networks into a single, solution that simplifies the transmission of voice, video, and data over a single secure network.
Harvest, which includes the company's legacy services managed for cash flow, including:
Voice Services: The company offers its customers a complete portfolio of traditional Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) voice services including primary rate interface service, local inbound service, switched one-plus, toll free, long distance and international services; and
Private Line: The company delivers private line services, a direct circuit or channel specifically dedicated for connecting two or more organizational sites. Private line service offers a high-speed, secure solution for frequent transmission of large amounts of data between sites, including wireless backhaul transmissions.
Other, which includes:
Equipment. The company sells and installs certain communications equipment.
IT Solutions: The company crafts technology solutions for its customers and often manage these solutions on an ongoing basis. These services frequently enhance equipment or networks owned, acquired, or controlled by the customer and often include the company's consulting or software development services; and
Other Legacy Services: The company continues to provide certain services based on older platforms to support its customers as they transition to newer technology. These services include Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) based ethernet, legacy data hosting services, and conferencing services.
As of December 31, 2023, the company reported its products and services revenue among the following categories for the Mass Markets segment:
Fiber Broadband, under which the company provides high speed broadband services to residential and small business customers utilizing its fiber-based network infrastructure;
Other Broadband, under which the company provides primarily lower speed broadband services to residential and small business customers utilizing its copper-based network infrastructure; and
Voice and Other, under which the company derives revenues from providing local and long-distance voice services, professional services, and other ancillary services, and federal broadband and state support programs.
Intellectual Property
As of December 31, 2023, the company held approximately 3,100 patents and patent applications in the U.S. and other countries. The company has also received licenses to use patents held by others, which give it the freedom to operate its business without the risk of interruption from the holder of the patented technology.
Seasonality
The company's network-related operating expenses are, however, generally higher in the second and third quarters of the year (year ended December 31, 2023). From time to time, weather related problems have resulted in increased costs to repair its network and respond to service calls in some of its markets.
Regulations
The company's domestic operations are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (the FCC), by various state regulatory commissions and occasionally by local agencies. The company's non-domestic operations are regulated by supranational groups (such as the European Union, or EU), national agencies and frequently state, provincial or local bodies. Generally, the company must obtain and maintain operating licenses from these bodies in most areas where it offers regulated services.
The FCC regulates the interstate services the company provides, including the business data service charges it bills for wholesale network transmission and intercarrier compensation, including the interstate access charges that it bills other communications companies in connection with the origination and termination of interstate phone calls. Additionally, the FCC regulates several aspects of the company's business related to international communications services, privacy, public safety and network infrastructure, including its access to and use of local telephone numbers, its provision of emergency 911 services and its use or removal (potentially on a reimbursable basis) of equipment produced by certain vendors deemed to cause potential national security risks.
As a provider of global services, the company must comply with complex foreign and the U.S. laws and regulations governing business ethics and practices, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act and other local laws prohibiting corrupt payments to governmental officials and anti-competition regulations.
History
The company was incorporated in Louisiana in 1968. The company was formerly known as CenturyTel, Inc. and changed its name to CenturyLink, Inc. in 2010. Further, the company changed its name to Lumen Technologies, Inc. in 2020.
