CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) is continuing its 1 Gbps fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) drive, announcing that it is now offering service to a number of new multi-tenant unit (MTU) buildings in parts of Houston.
As it has done in other markets like Salt Lake City where it now offers 1 Gbps FTTP services, eligible customers will be able to access CenturyLink's Managed Office, a managed services solution that includes end-to-end management of Internet, voice and cloud-based business applications.
It can also offer customers its suite multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), optical wave service, Ethernet and VoIP services.
Since fiber can offer an unlimited amount of bandwidth, CenturyLink is keen on helping Houston and other communities attract more businesses to their community. The service provider will work with existing MTU landlords and leasing agents who want to attract technology-driven business tenants that would be a good fit for 1 Gbps services.
CenturyLink said in a release that a "business can quickly activate Internet service that meets or exceeds its connectivity requirements in a building that is pre-lit with CenturyLink fiber."
Expanding the reach of its 1 Gbps-capable service to more MTUs like Houston reflects a company-wide network expansion strategy it announced in May 2015 to bring 1 Gbps service to about 500,000 businesses and 700,000 homes, two initiatives that company executives have said should continue in 2016 and beyond.
In August 2014, the service provider said it would extend its service footprint to residential and business customers in select locations in 16 cities.
Although CenturyLink does not break out how much revenue it gets from its FTTB deployments, it is a growing contributor to overall business segment revenues. CenturyLink won't release its fourth quarter 2015 earnings until Thursday, but its third quarter strategic revenues declined 2.1 percent year-over-year to $1.56 billion due to what it said were continued declines in low-bandwidth data and hosting services.
For more:
- see the release
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