Satellite Technology Feature Article
August 02, 2010
CenturyLink Sets Aside Dish Network in Favor of DirecTV
By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor
DirecTV (News - Alert) could soon be the satellite provider of choice for those in rural areas. CenturyLink, a rural telephone company, has announced its plans to resell DirecTV instead of rival Dish Network. This announcement was featured in a Reuters (News - Alert) report.
According to a DirecTV spokesman, the agreement is not exclusive. He declined to share with Reutersthe financial terms of the agreement. CenturyLink, once known as CenturyTel (News - Alert), has had a marketing relationship with Dish since 2005. Representatives from both companies have been unavailable for comment on the transaction or why their relationship fell apart. This move is significant for all companies involved as CenturyLink is in the process of buying Qwest (News - Alert) Communications.
The proposed transaction was announced in April and if approved by federal regulators, this $10.6 billion deal would combine the third- and fourth-largest U.S. phone operators. The proposed deal will effectively bring together the assets of the two ILECs into a company with 17.3 million access lines, 5.2 million broadband subscribers, 174,000 miles of long-haul fiber, and approximately $5 billion in proforma enterprise revenues.The newly formed company will serve customers in 37 states, supporting 17 million access lines.
In other CenturyLink news, the company announced in May its operating results for first quarter 2010. During the first quarter, the company added more than 70,000 high-speed Internet customers, which reflects nearly 10 percent and 50 percent increases, respectively, compared to pro forma first quarter 2009 growth of approximately 64,000 and fourth quarter 2009 growth of nearly 47,000, the company said.The same month, the company completed the first phase of the CenturyLink's IP voice infrastructure implementation with Sonus Networks (News - Alert).
According to officials with CenturyLink, they are bringing together significant volumes of TDM (Time-Division Multiplexing) or traditionally switched and IP traffic from two large networks.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Erin Harrison
According to a DirecTV spokesman, the agreement is not exclusive. He declined to share with Reutersthe financial terms of the agreement. CenturyLink, once known as CenturyTel (News - Alert), has had a marketing relationship with Dish since 2005. Representatives from both companies have been unavailable for comment on the transaction or why their relationship fell apart. This move is significant for all companies involved as CenturyLink is in the process of buying Qwest (News - Alert) Communications.
The proposed transaction was announced in April and if approved by federal regulators, this $10.6 billion deal would combine the third- and fourth-largest U.S. phone operators. The proposed deal will effectively bring together the assets of the two ILECs into a company with 17.3 million access lines, 5.2 million broadband subscribers, 174,000 miles of long-haul fiber, and approximately $5 billion in proforma enterprise revenues.The newly formed company will serve customers in 37 states, supporting 17 million access lines.
In other CenturyLink news, the company announced in May its operating results for first quarter 2010. During the first quarter, the company added more than 70,000 high-speed Internet customers, which reflects nearly 10 percent and 50 percent increases, respectively, compared to pro forma first quarter 2009 growth of approximately 64,000 and fourth quarter 2009 growth of nearly 47,000, the company said.The same month, the company completed the first phase of the CenturyLink's IP voice infrastructure implementation with Sonus Networks (News - Alert).
According to officials with CenturyLink, they are bringing together significant volumes of TDM (Time-Division Multiplexing) or traditionally switched and IP traffic from two large networks.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Erin Harrison
