CenturyLink Wins Social Security Administration Task Order

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) recently won a $233 million task order to provide primary managed data networking services over the next five years to the Social Security Administration (SSA) under the Networx Universal contract. The General Services Administration's Networx program is the largest telecommunications contract vehicle ever awarded by the federal government. 

CenturyLink will provide network infrastructure for data, video and voice services to the SSA, which has more than 62,000 employees worldwide.  As the primary service provider, CenturyLink will help SSA drive the pace for the transition from the current providers to the new service providers.

In this capacity, CenturyLink will serve all SSA data centers, regional offices, program service centers, remote operations communications centers and more than 1,500 field office locations around the world. Under the task order, CenturyLink will also provide management and implementation support and lifecycle engineering. 

SSA had previously awarded a broad voice services task order to Qwest, which was acquired by CenturyLink, in 2008. The services that CenturyLink provides under the 2008 award help SSA with everything from internal communications and collaboration via audio conferencing to lowering its disability case hearing backlog via video conferencing. 

The most recent managed data networking services award extends CenturyLink's mission-focused partnership with SSA by fostering a deeper collaborative relationship that will provide a bridge for SSA to the next generation data network services. 

"SSA touches the life of every American from birth forward. They serve a vital role in the security of Americans through all phases of life," said Diana Gowen, CenturyLink senior vice president and general manager, who oversees solutions for federal, state and local government customers. "With the increased pace at which baby boomers are filing for retirement benefits, as well as unprecedented increases in the demand for all the services SSA offers to citizens, the challenges facing SSA are daunting. We are prepared to expand on this partnership with SSA to ensure flawless delivery of these vital citizen services, and we look forward to working with them to provide the data networking services they need to serve the American public."  

About CenturyLink
CenturyLink is the third largest telecommunications company in the United States. The company provides broadband, voice, wireless and managed services to consumers and businesses across the country. It also offers advanced entertainment services under the CenturyLink™ Prism™ TV and DIRECTV® brands. In addition, the company provides data, voice and managed services to enterprise, government and wholesale customers in local, national and select international markets through its high-quality, advanced fiber optic network and multiple data centers. CenturyLink is recognized as a leader in the network services market by key technology industry analyst firms, and is a global leader in cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions for enterprises through Savvis, a CenturyLink company. CenturyLink's customers range from Fortune 500 companies in some of the country's largest cities to families living in rural America. Headquartered in Monroe, La., CenturyLink is an S&P 500 company and is included among the Fortune 500 list of America's largest corporations. For more information, visit www.centurylink.com.

SOURCE CenturyLink, Inc.