CenturyLink Expands Fiber Network in Europe

LONDON, Nov. 28, 2019

LONDON, Nov. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- To further power digital business growth in Europe, CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) has built new metro networks in Madrid, Spain and Marseille, France and is connecting an additional 90 data centers to its network in six core markets. These strategic expansions, in key hubs of business and commerce in Europe, will deliver high-speed connectivity and advanced technology solutions through CenturyLink's secure, global network.

"Our new fiber expansions in Europe take CenturyLink's network and technology services deeper and closer to our customers," said Richard Warley, regional president, EMEA, CenturyLink. "This puts us where we need to be to meet their growing and evolving digital business needs, as well as enhance their customer experience with new technology solutions. This regional investment reflects CenturyLink's global focus to continue enhancing our significant fiber network for fueling innovation."

Madrid

• CenturyLink built a metro network footprint of 40 route miles, creating a ring that spans major business districts, including the city center, financial areas, and Madrid's Silicon Alley.
• The infrastructure will connect key enterprise buildings and an initial five core data centers to CenturyLink for providing fast, secure networking solutions.

Marseille

• CenturyLink's expansion in Marseille, one of Europe's largest digital gateways, enhances its ability to deliver both local and international connectivity services.
• CenturyLink built out a dense metro fiber footprint, creating a ring that spans major business districts, including multiple enterprise buildings and, initially, three core data centers.
• The infrastructure will connect key landing stations in Marseille which will provide access to strategic sub-sea cables connecting to the Middle East, Far East and East Africa.
• This network foundation will provide enterprise and wholesale customers with direct access to localized transport and IP services in Marseille and route diversity options that maximize network availability and minimize latency.

Data Centers

• CenturyLink is connecting 90 additional data centers to its network within the UK and Ireland, Benelux, DACH, Nordics, Southern Europe and Eastern Europe.
• The data centers will be equipped to offer a mix of virtual network services and applications, as well as deliver high-performance connections to leading private and public cloud service providers, including AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure.
• The network connection of 50 data centers is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. The additional 40 data centers are expected to be network connected by mid-2020.

Today's news builds on CenturyLink's announcement earlier this year that it is creating an extensive 4.7-million fiber mile intercity fiber network across the U.S. and parts of Europe.