Lumen Breaks Connectivity Barriers for U.S. Businesses—Expands Availability of Internet On-Demand to Over 10 Million New Locations

Expansion extends availability for quick, self-service connectivity to offices, branches, and data centers nationwide to help businesses operate faster and smarter

Solving a Universal Connectivity Challenge

Enterprises connecting locations outside their carrier’s network often means juggling multiple contracts and service models. Lumen’s bold, strategic investment in its Internet On-Demand expansion helps solve that. Large enterprises, mid-market businesses, and government agencies no longer need to worry about whether their facilities are inside or outside of Lumen’s network footprint. Through collaboration with other network providers for last mile connections, Lumen’s NaaS platform offers one seamless, self-service solution to connect offices, branches, and data centers virtually anywhere.

“Customers tell us their biggest challenge is reach—getting reliable, on-demand connectivity wherever their business operates,” said Dave Ward, chief technology and product officer of Lumen Technologies. “For too long, businesses have been constrained by geography, but we’re eliminating that barrier. By extending Lumen’s Internet On-Demand service beyond our network, we’re meeting businesses where they are and delivering one self-service solution that gives them the speed and flexibility they need to compete.”

How It Works: Cloud-Like Internet, On-Demand

Lumen Internet On-Demand delivers adjustable, pay-as-you-go connectivity that businesses can scale up or down within minutes as business needs change, whether that’s a traffic surge, seasonal demand, or a new service rollout. Through a simple digital portal, enterprises can:

• Spin up or scale connectivity in minutes.
• Choose from flexible bandwidth tiers.
• Add static or dynamic routing options and security features, like Lumen Defender.
• Pay hourly for what they use.

The result: a true cloud-like internet experience with the same speed, reliability and low-latency performance Lumen’s network is known for, giving customers control over how they consume connectivity.

More Reach, More Agility

Lumen’s expanded coverage unlocks new possibilities across industries:

• Retail: Deliver consistent digital shopping experience at every store, from flagship locations in major metros to small shops in rural towns.
• Finance: Support secure, compliant, and reliable connectivity for branch offices.
• Healthcare: Provide clients, labs, and offices bandwidth for real-time data access and collaboration.
• Manufacturing: Connect plants, warehouses, and offices under a single scalable model, to help cut costs and complexity.

Momentum is building quickly as businesses seek to simplify connectivity across locations. Lumen has secured multiple customers, including Xcel Energy, a leading U.S. energy provider who is turning to Lumen Internet On-Demand to support its growing digital operations across multiple states. The service will give Xcel Energy the agility to activate high-speed, secure connectivity in minutes—without managing multiple carriers—supporting everything from grid analytics to real-time collaboration.

“As we modernize our grid and expand digital operations, our collaboration with Lumen is enabling the digital foundation for the future of energy,” said Tim Peterson, chief technology officer, Xcel Energy. “Lumen’s Internet On-Demand offers the agility and reliability we need to simplify off-net connectivity—enabling faster site turn-ups, real-time monitoring, and scalable infrastructure. This flexibility supports smarter, more resilient operations and accelerates our ability to deploy advanced grid analytics across our service areas.”

Lumen helped Xcel Energy achieve on-demand, high-performance connectivity in collaboration with Lumen’s trusted partner, Carrier Access, reinforcing the power of Lumen’s partners to help deliver enterprise solutions where they are most needed.

Powering the Next Wave of Enterprise Innovation

As enterprises race to modernize AI workloads, hybrid work, and data-intensive applications, network flexibility is no longer optional; it’s mission-critical. Lumen’s expanded Internet On-Demand service complements its broader portfolio of on-demand solutions, including Ethernet On-Demand, also built for rapid deployment and minimal overhead.

Businesses will initially use a single-service port to connect to Lumen Internet-On-Demand service. Looking ahead, Lumen plans to introduce a new multi-service network interface device featuring AI-driven monitoring, automatic troubleshooting, and plug-and-play deployment, making network management even more intelligent and effortless.

Source: Lumen media announcement