CenturyLink 2010 Annual Report Download - page 4

To Our Stockholders
Over the past 20 years, the CenturyLinkteam hasdeveloped several clear core
competenciesthat in 2010 combinedto deliverexcellent financialand operational
performance.Our competencies include integration expertise honed through many
successful acquisitions, a proven localoperating modelthat fosters customer-driven
decision makingand a disciplined financialmanagement approach. In 2010, these
strengthshelped us executethe Embarqintegration plan anddeliver financial and
operational results that exceeded our expectations.
Ourcore competenciesalso made it possible for us to announce in April 2010 an
agreement to acquire Qwest Communications in a tax-free, stock-for-stock transaction.
TheQwest acquisition providesCenturyLinkthe additional scale andscope we need to
compete as a nationwide,industry-leading telecommunications company – the third
largest in the country. We expectthe transaction to providesignificant benefits for
customers, shareholders and the communities in which we operate.
2010: Achievementsin the marketplace
Even in a verychallengingeconomic environment,we were able to achieve several
keymilestones in 2010. In particular, we made solidprogresstoward our goal of being
the leading broadband service provider in the markets we serve. In 2010, we added
158,000 high-speed Internetsubscribers, an increase of 7.1 percent over 2009. At
year end, approximately 92 percentof our accesslines were broadbandenabled and
65 percent of these were capable of speeds up to 10 Mbps.
In early 2011, we announcedan agreement with Verizon Wireless that will enable
CenturyLink to offer Verizon Wirelessequipment and servicesto residential and
small business customers, further expandingour portfolio of communications products
andservices.
In the business and enterprise markets,we acquired new customers and strengthened
existing relationships with continuedinvestments in advanced data capabilities, including
Ethernet and Multiprotocol Label Switching(MPLS) offerings, which provide seamless,
reliable connectivitybetween people andlocations nationwide.
Prism™TV delivers
Prism™TV delivers high-quality video
content, a broad range of on-demand
content and advanced interactive features.
We launched Prism™TV in Las Vegas,
Nevada and Fort Myers, Florida in 2010,
bringing total markets in service to five,
and expect to launch three additional
markets in 2011.
2 GROW TH +OPPORTUNITY AND SCALE
Customers have responded positively to our expanding portfolio of broadband services –
especially our CenturyLink™ Prism™ TV service, which we expanded to Fort Myers,
Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada in 2010. Prism™ TV delivers high-quality video content,
a broad range of on-demand content and advanced interactive features over our
managed two-way IP network. We also had success selling Prism™ TV, typically bundled
with voice and data services, into the Multiple Dwelling Unit (MDU) market, which
includes condominium and apartment complexes, hotels, homeowners associations,
assisted living centers and universities.