Drew Dixon
Communications and technology giant AT&T is acquiring Lumen communications operations in several Florida markets.
The telecommunications staple has entered into a deal to buy out Lumen’s Mass Markets fiber internet connectivity business. The accord not only puts all of Lumen’s Florida operations under the AT&T corporate umbrella, but the agreement also gives AT&T ownership of Lumen’s operations across 11 states and includes 1 million fiber customers and about 4 million fiber locations.
The purchase is projected to close in 2026. The deal is estimated to be valued at $5.75 billion, an AT&T news release last week.
For Florida, the acquisition will impact about a half dozen metropolitan markets in Central and Southwest Florida. They include Orlando, The Villages, Ocala, Naples, Cape Coral and Punta Gorda. Lumen currently operates CenturyLink and Quantum services in those areas.
“We’re leading the race to connect more Americans with fiber, the best broadband connectivity technology available,” said John Stankey, Chairman and CEO of AT&T. “This deal with Lumen represents a significant investment in U.S. connectivity infrastructure that will create jobs and spur economic activity in numerous regions and major metro areas across 11 states. As we advance our fiber build, we’ll serve more communities with world-class connectivity and expect to roughly double where AT&T Fiber is available by the end of 2030.”
Some of the other states outside Florida the deal impacts include major metropolitan markets such as Denver, Colorado; Las Vegas, Nevada; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Phoenix, Arizona; Portland, Oregon; and Salt Lake City, Utah among other locales.
“AT&T will hold the acquired fiber network assets, including certain fiber network deployment capabilities, in a new, fully owned subsidiary, “NetworkCo.” It is expected that along with the fiber assets, certain employees will move, or receive offers to move, from Lumen to AT&T or NetworkCo as a part of this deal,” the AT&T announcement said.
AT&T officials said once the deal is done, the company will sell partial ownership of NetworkCo to an equity partner for co-investment. That partner has not been named, yet. Officials said that will happen within a year after closing the deal.
