CenturyLink 2012 Annual Report Download - page 5

domestic fiber network, which coversapproxi-
mately230,000 routemiles. We experienced
strong demand in 2012for enterprise network
services,whichled to fourconsecutivequarters
of recurring revenue growthand totalyear-
over-yearrevenue growthin thissegment
of our business.
In late 2012,we launchedsavvisdirect, our
simplified approach to cloud computing for
businesses of all sizes. Earlyresponses have
been positive, and we believe savvisdirect
offersthe opportunity to gain market share
in the fast-growingcloud segment.We also
continuedto expand SavvisSymphony, our
industry-leadingsuiteof enterprise cloud
computing solutions, and, with the acquisition
of certain assets of Ciber’s IT outsourcing
business, we enhanced our capabilities
in application management servicesand
help-desksupport.
Followingour acquisition of Qwest in 2011,
we have continued to evolve ourcustomer-
support organizations.In January2013,
we combinedthe organizations serving our
enterprise and small-to-medium business
customersinto oneoperating group. This
move is designed to streamline our end-to-
endservice delivery andsalesto our network
services enterprise customers and to maintain
ourlocalmarket focus for small- to medium-
size businesses.
We also had successin the consumer market
in 2012, addingnearly 200,000 high-speed
Internet (HSI) customersin a yearthat saw
stagnant HSI growth for the industryas a
whole.We ended the year with more than
 MILLION BROADBAND SUBSCRIBERS 0RISM© 46
ouradvancedentertainment service, added
 SUBSCRIBERS IN  ENDING THE YEAR
WITH  SUBSCRIBERS
3`
“By offering differentiated
services with an outstanding
customer experience,
we have developed positions
of strength in the business
andconsumer markets.”
We continue to expandour broadband
network, addingapproximately onemillion
newliving unitsto our fiber-to-the-node
(FTTN)infrastructurein 2012. We also
enhanced ourbroadband speeds.More than
70 percent of our enabled access linesare
nowcapable of speeds of 6Mbpsor higher,
nearly 60 percent are capable of 10Mbps or
higherand 31 percentare capable of 20Mbps
or higher. Nationwide,across our network
BACKBONE AND IN MORE THAN  53 METRO
locations, we are capable of delivering speeds
of 100Gbps.
Even as we expand andenhance ourconsumer
offerings, we strive to maintain our personal,
market-basedservice through our local operat-
ingmodel. We believethis model enables us
to respond more effectively to each market’s
unique customer and competitive mix, while
delivering service with the personaltouch that
sets CenturyLinkapart.
Investingin strategic growthinitiatives
We compete in an environmentthat is
broadband-enabled andInternetProtocol
(IP)-driven. Ourlong-term investment focus is
on developing the technologies and capabilities
we need to deliver differentiatedservices,
includingmanaged hosting andIT services,
with an outstanding customer experience.
We identify andconsistentlyinvest in specific
initiatives that will supportour growth in
strategicareas. Our 2012 progress was largely
due to the investments we’ve made over the
past several years.
We areinvesting to expand andenhance our
broadbandnetwork andcapabilities to meet
rapidly growing demand forbandwidth and
related services. We are investing in ourFTTN
initiative to enhancespeeds andservicesfor
consumers. By year-end, we passed more
than 7.1 million homes with FTTN technology.
We extended ourfiber network and expanded
ourEthernetnetwork over copperto provide
higherspeeds andIP-basedservicesto
business customers. In 2012, ourEthernet-over-
copper footprint increased more than 80 percent
to include more than 700 central offices.
We arealso investing to expandthe footprint
andsubscriber base of Prism™TV, which
represents a compelling entertainment
ALTERNATIVE TO CABLE 46 -ORE THAN  PERCENT
of Prism™TV subscribers are new CenturyLink
customers, and we have experienced a
90 percent broadband pull-through rate with
these customers. We operate in eight markets
andpass more than one million homes. We
planto commercially launchservice in Phoenix
in the first half of 2013 andlaunch an additional
marketlaterin the year. In addition to expanding
ourPrism™TV-enabled footprint,our focus
in 2013 also will be on increasing ourrate of
subscriber growth in all Prism™TV markets.
...with consumers