CenturyLink Falls Short on Key Peninsula

Cristan Conselman Sutton of Lakebay usually telecommutes to work. She described her typical process of addressing CenturyLink internet outages, which she has documented over the years.

“First, they recommend a reboot,” Sutton said. “Then they run a test, find no modem, say that no outage has been reported, and that the problem is within the home system. They can send a technician, but there may be a charge. An automated cancellation of the appointment comes the day before or the day of the scheduled visit, stating that the problem is due to a known outage or that the outage has been fixed. The status at the home is unchanged; there is still no internet. I call again and usually repeat three or four times before service is restored. It can take up to six weeks.”

She looked at alternatives. Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T were unable to provide her with internet. Astound told her it would cost her $3,000 to bring a line 600 feet to her home.

She decided to get Starlink in August, despite a high monthly fee. “I’m lucky that I can afford it,” Sutton said.

When Vanessa Fritsch first moved to Vaughn 23 years ago, her service was on par with that in a city, but it degraded over the years. She recalls going to a community meeting at the civic center about eight years ago. “CenturyLink said that to pull fiber was not worth it because they could not get a return on investment,” Fritsch said. “We just aren’t worth it.” (“Little to No Broadband Equality for KP Residents,” December 2019.)

Her family switched to Starlink in 2021. Bob Dale lives near Evergreen Elementary School and has been a CenturyLink customer for 15 years. He now has cellular phone service, but CenturyLink is his only option for internet. “They are not doing maintenance on the lines. Trees are growing into cable and the poles,” Dale said. His service went out Aug. 3, and a month later, he still had no service.

The outages may be due to copper wire theft, lines downed or damaged by trees, or car-related pole incidents. Sutton said that the technician who last visited their house told her CenturyLink has just two trucks that come to the Key Peninsula. “He told me that they rarely do repairs as they are busy just checking lines and stuff out and doing installations,” Sutton said. “They contract the repairs, and contractors work on their own schedule without much accountability or follow-up.”

Key Peninsula CenturyLink customers are not alone. In April, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission announced that, based on a “substantial increase in consumer complaints about CenturyLink,” it launched an investigation. UTC regulates landline telephone service, but not internet or cellphones.

UTC found hundreds of thousands of violations. CenturyLink had failed to provide services reasonably and promptly. The company endangered continuity of service and failed to provide adequate maintenance or promptly repair broken or damaged equipment. CenturyLink also failed to adequately respond to commission-referred complaints.

A summary report stated: “Based on the consistent rise in service quality complaints, which include service outages/interruptions, after receiving technical assistance and thousands of violations, and the company’s continued failure to provide (UTC) staff with adequate and timely information in response to commission-referred complaints, it is highly likely these types of violations will continue.”

The UTC recommended nearly $11 million in penalties.

The commission has not yet ruled on the recommendation. A prehearing conference and evidentiary hearing are scheduled March 24, 2026.

How CenturyLink (the customer-facing name for what is now Lumen Technologies) ultimately plans to serve its current phone company customers is not entirely clear, but recent actions indicate a desire to close its rural market.

From its origin as a Louisiana phone company in the 1930s, CenturyLink evolved from a telecommunications provider to a technology company. It rebranded to Lumen in 2020 to reflect that evolution, which included a focus on services for businesses.

It sold 20 of its 36 copper networks. Jeff Storey, the CEO at the time, told investors that Lumen would concentrate broadband upgrades in urban and suburban markets.

The CenturyLink website advertises fiber internet service in Seattle and Tacoma, but based on recent requests and testimony to the UTC, it appears that the company would like to get out of the rural landline market in Washington altogether.

In 2024, CenturyLink requested that the UTC reclassify it as a fully competitive telecommunications carrier, which requires that customers have reasonably available alternatives. Fully competitive companies have far fewer regulations and consumer protections.

Lumen Regulatory Affairs Director Pete Gose testified that CenturyLink’s traditional phone service had suffered massive declines in customers and revenue and currently provides less than 4% of the voice connections in the state. UTC staff and CenturyLink reached a preliminary settlement, but the Public Counsel Unit of the Attorney General testified that the absence of alternate service providers in rural communities would cause safety problems. The commission rejected the initial plan.

The final plan, approved in July, placed significant limits on CenturyLink’s ability to cancel service. The Federal Communications Commission must be notified. For any location, at least two other providers of fixed internet at 25/3 Mbps speed or greater and/ or 5G mobile wireless service must be available for $55.55 per month or less. There are multiple requirements regarding informing customers, and the company cannot file more than three discontinuance notices per calendar year, with no more than 500 customers per year affected.

Key Peninsula News contacted Lumen to ask how the new plan might impact rural customers in Washington. Global Issues Director Mark Molzen responded, “A new provision allows for the potential discontinuation of traditional voice service for a small number of customers annually — but only through a process with strong safeguards. CenturyLink has not yet decided whether to use this option, and any future action would require confirming reliable service alternatives for affected customers, with substantial oversight from the FCC and Attorney General’s office.”

Complaints can be filed, but each service is regulated by different agencies. The UTC regulates landline phones. The Washington State Attorney General handles DSL and wireless. The FCC manages cable and satellite.

To file complaints: UTC for phone at 888-333-WUTC (9882) or online at www.utc.wa.gov/FileComplaint. Washington State Attorney General for DSL and cable at 800-551-4636 or www.atg.wa.gov/file-complaint. FCC for cell and satellite at 888-CALLFCC (888-225-5322) or consumercomplaints.fcc.gov.