Lumen Technologies, Inc. LUMN has secured a three-year contract with The New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion to deliver nearly 900 miles of high-speed fiber connectivity to K-12 public schools (inclusive of tribal and charter schools) across the state.
Numerous public schools throughout New Mexico are dedicated to joining the Statewide Education Network, which aims to link all schools in the state by 2027. This initiative will establish the groundwork for a state-coordinated middle-mile network.
Middle-mile connectivity is vital for digital inclusivity, equity and affordability by linking to last-mile broadband providers. Lumen’s work with the New Mexico Statewide Education Network reflects the company’s commitment to leveraging its extensive fiber network to enhance digital inclusivity and create new opportunities for all Americans, Lumen highlighted.
This three-year contract, valued at more than $4.3 million for the first phase, will provide secure connectivity for approximately 15,000 students across 27 public schools in the Gadsden Independent School District in Santa Teresa and three charter schools in Albuquerque (21st Century Public Academy, Mark Armijo Academy and Mountain Mahogany Community School).
Lumen's advanced high-capacity fiberoptic technology and centralized network design will enhance learning, collaboration and lesson sharing among students and teachers throughout New Mexico.
Lumen, a global communications services provider, offers networking, edge cloud, collaboration and cybersecurity solutions, and managed services to enhance business efficiency and create seamless, user-friendly technology environments.
Lumen’s second-quarter revenues were $3.268 billion, down 10.7% year over year on a reported basis. The decline was due to the negative impact of divestitures, commercial agreements and the sale of the CDN business.
However, opportunities driven by AI proliferation are emerging as a tailwind. Demand for the company’s Private Connectivity Fabric solutions is an encouraging development. Recently, Lumen secured $5 billion in new business driven by AI demand and is negotiating another $7 billion in sales. Additionally, Microsoft selected Lumen to enhance its network capacity and support next-gen applications.
To further support this expansion, Lumen signed its largest cable purchase agreement with Corning, securing 10% of the latter global fiber capacity for the next two years.
Lumen currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Shares of the company have skyrocketed 269.3% in the past year compared with the sub-industry’s growth of 48.5%.
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