COMPTEL: CenturyTel Expands Network Reach

LightCore (Booth 608), a wholly owned subsidiary of CenturyTel Inc., has enhanced its network reach in the southeastern United States as part of the company’s integration of Madison River Telephone to the LightCore Next Generation DWDM expansion project. The company completed the acquisition of Madison River Communications Corp. in April 2007.

“We have added new long-haul on-ramps as part of our integration of Madison River, providing 14,700 route miles of network backbone serving wholesale and enterprise customers across 17 states,” said Steve Hartman, vice president of carrier sales for CenturyTel. CenturyTel’s LightCore expansion will add Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets to its current portfolio. Such popular southern growth markets, like Atlanta; Mobile, Dothan and Montgomery, Ala.; Jackson and Gulfport, Miss.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Destin, Fla., will help us compete as an alternative provider in the southeastern United States.”

Additionally, LightCore has added new PoPs serving wholesale clients operating in the Chicago metro area. New local sites served include 600 S. Federal, 717 Wells and 350 Cermac.

“LightCore continues to be dedicated to providing the most reliable network services available, customer responsiveness, and the creation of unique solutions that exactly fit our customers’ needs,” said Hartman. “We continue to grow our footprint to support our customers’ expansion requirements.”

CenturyTel Inc. www.centurytel.com