Lumen Invests to Add 6 Million Fiber Miles to U.S. Intercity Network

Lumen Technologies

Serving clients in more than 60 countries and having almost 400,000 route miles of fiber, Lumen Technologies (formerly named CenturyLink) offers one of the largest fiber networks in the world. To fulfill the ongoing demand for fiber, Lumen is now investing in an additional 6 million fiber miles to its U.S. intercity network, which are anticipated to be deployed by 2026.

When finished, Lumen’s intercity investment in the United States will cover almost 12 million fiber miles, establishing a variety of routes to more than 50 significant cities throughout the nation. Lumen uses a multi-conduit method to upgrade its infrastructure, making it possible to quickly deploy the newest fiber technology.

SMF-28 ULL and SMF-28 Ultra fiber from Corning are still being used by Lumen to enhance its intercity infrastructure and expand its network. This is the latest in optical technology.

“We are creating a next-gen network, and fiber type matters,” said Andrew Dugan, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Lumen Technologies. “As demand for optical fiber increases and technology evolves, Lumen’s multi-conduit infrastructure means we can install the latest fiber type quickly and economically. It’s difficult to upgrade legacy intercity networks without multiple conduits. These networks end up being stuck with older fiber technology. Lumen is fixing that issue with our upgraded technology. We can extend signal reach to help reduce equipment costs and increase bandwidth capacity. Using ultra-low-loss fiber on the Lumen network is a major component of what differentiates us from other network providers.”

Wavelength Services up to 400G

Over 24,000 route miles of Lumen’s intercity network in the U.S. have now been improved. As a result, network performance levels and capacity would be enhanced.

This fiber technology can support customer wavelength services up to 400G now and increasing customer speeds in the future. This would enable real-time data acquisition and analysis while assisting in meeting the high bandwidth requirements of organizations.

This newly deployed and enhanced fiber network would help businesses by providing a speedier connection to the major cloud service providers. Using an app called Topology Viewer, they may also create their own network services to serve their digital demands.