By Sean Kinney, Editor in Chief
Lumen Technologies, formerly CenturyLink, using its fiber and edge assets for enterprise 5G services
According to the “Un-carrier,” it wants to double its enterprise market share in the next five years. During a March analyst event, T-Mobile executives discussed the role of 5G in driving innovation into various enterprise verticals; EVP of T-Mobile Business Mike Katz said its 5G network is capable of providing a “superior alternative to AT&T and Verizon” and will get the company “top of mind for every CIO across America.”
When considering 5G as a mechanism for enterprise digitalization, distribution of compute out to the network edge is often discussed in the same breath given that a low-latency application will require data center capabilities spread out closer to where data is generated, like near a factory floor or logistics facility.
Addressing the edge piece, T-Mobile announced in April an arrangement with Lumen Technologies, formerly CenturyLink, that will see the carrier use Lumen’s edge infrastructure to help “enterprises effectively build, manage and scale applications across highly distributed environments.” Customers will be able to access Lumen’s “hundreds of thousands of on-net enterprise locations on the Lumen fiber network” using T-Mobile’s 5G network. Also part of the deal, T-Mobile will be “a preferred wireless connectivity partner for Lumen.”
Katz said in a statement that the combination of 5G and edge will help T-Mobile “break down industry barriers and deliver unparalleled network reach to enterprise and government organizations looking to optimize their applications across networks.”
Lumen has around 450,000 global route miles of fiber and 180,000 on-net buildings connected to 2,200 third-party data centers; it works with cloud providers Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud and Oracle Cloud. Check out this installment of Jim Patterson’s The Sunday Brief for some commentary on the ebb and flow of Lumen’s business.
Lumen EVP and CMO Shaun Andrews touted the “powerful trifecta” of 5G, fiber and managed services. “T-Mobile’s expansive 5G footprint coupled with our extensive edge computing platform would provide enterprise developers with the best of both worlds to power the next wave of digital business.”
