We have been following CenturyLink’s acquisition of Qwest. Last we heard they (CL/Q) had agreed to commit $50 million to broadband over the next five years. Steve Alexander, at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, has pulled more information together on the deal that puts greater context on that $50 million.

The good news is that one-third of their budget is ear marked for un- and underserved areas. The bad news is that CL/Q plan to cut $575 million in the first 3-5 years. Also there are clear indicators that $50 million is less than Qwest has spent on broadband in the last 5 years.

So what does this mean? Well to Qwest competitors and staff it means a lot.

They [Competitors] include some Qwest competitors, called CLECs (competitive local exchange carriers) which are smaller phone companies that depend on connecting to Qwest’s network, and who worry that network might change or degrade after the acquisition. The local exchange carriers are at once customers and competitors of Qwest.

The 2,100 Qwest union employees in Minnesota, represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), also oppose the merger. They worry about whether Qwest will be competitive after the companies combine and whether jobs will be cut. Jobs aren’t mentioned in the guarantees. Qwest has about 3,300 employees in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission  is looking at the acquisition. (They have been receiving feedback from the public since this summer, but their deadline for comments if passed.) Other state PUCs also need to approve the acquisition in their areas. Apparently as of late September, CL/Q had received approval from 9 other states – and the District of Columbia.)