To find out the plans available and which types of businesses they’re best suited to, I’ve been doing extensive research on CenturyLink. If you’re a small business owner, stay tuned to get information on the following subjects:
- The pros and cons
- The available plans and pricing
- Any bundles with other products
- Additional CenturyLink deals
- How to get set up and contact customer service
- Business internet availability
- How it stacks up against the competition
Time to get started.
CenturyLink Business Internet Pros & Cons
Before we get started, here’s an overview of the best and worst things about CenturyLink Business Internet.
Pros
- More affordable than most of the competition
- No minimum contract term
- You can get a $100 Mastercard card when you sign up
- CenturyLink offers referral rewards of $50 or $100
- Upload and download speed are the same with fiber
Cons
- Not many choices of plans
- Only available in 15 states
- Not as fast as most of the competition
- Additional fees for equipment and setup
CenturyLink Business Internet Plans & Pricing
There are three different internet plans that CenturyLink small business customers can get [1]. You can see them in the table below.
Internet Plan | Download Speed | Upload Speed | Price per month | Best for |
Simply Unlimited | Up to 140 Mbps | Up to 12 Mbps | $50 | Up to 4 people |
Fiber Gigabit | Up to 940 Mbps | Up to 940 Mbps | $65/70 | Up to 15 people |
Fiber 200 | Up to 200 Mbps | Up to 200 Mbps | $30 | Up to 6 people |
For the record, Simply Unlimited refers to regular DSL whereas fiber is the better deal. The reason Simply Unlimited is still an option is that fiber is only available in limited locations on the coverage map. We’ll cover that in the availability section later on.
However, for the time being, one thing that should be understood is that with Simply Unlimited, you won’t get a choice of speed. CenturyLink will simply put you on as fast a speed cap as possible, but it could be as low as 20 Mbps if you live in a very rural area.
With Simply Unlimited and Fiber, you’ll also get the following perks:
- No minimum contract: You can sign up for any of these three plans for as little as one month. This allows you the flexibility to see if they’re right for you, or to move your business location if you need to.
- No data cap: You won’t have to worry about how much data you use with CenturyLink. There’s no such thing as a data cap with this company!
Fiber customers will be treated to these perks as well, above and beyond those listed above:
- Bilateral speeds: Fiber internet allows for your upload speed and download speed to be the same. With Simply Unlimited, however, your upload speed is unlikely to ever be higher than 12 Mbps, no matter what your download speed is.
- Free modem/router: Fiber customers can get their hardware for free. CenturyLink will send your modem/router out to you when you sign up, and the only time you’ll have to pay for it is if you fail to return it when you leave as a customer.
Additional fees
CenturyLink business customers may also be subjected to the following fees [2]:
- Installation: Simply Unlimited customers may have to pay a fee of up to $149 to get their internet connection online.
- Modem/router: The Simply Unlimited plan does not come with free hardware. Here, you can either pay $15 plus tax to lease it or a flat fee of $200 to buy it outright. However, you can probably get a better deal on a purchase. Check out our guide to the best routers for CenturyLink here.
- Taxes: None of the prices quoted include any federal or state taxes. These will vary from area to area. You may also need to pay CTL fees (including the state recovery charge) of up to $3 per month.
- Late fees: If you fail to pay your bill on the required data, you’ll be subject to a fee of $15 per month. You may also be charged a percentage of the bill on top of this, so I recommend setting up a direct debit to avoid this happening.
- Paper billing: If you opt out of paperless billing, you’ll need to pay an additional $10 per month. Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to check out your bill online and print it for yourself if you need to.
Bundling CenturyLink Business Internet With Other Services
As a business user, you might want to bundle a landline phone line or two in with your CenturyLink Internet plan. And doing that can actually save you money on your monthly bill.
Here’s a look at the bundles available [3]:
Bundle | Description | Price per month (varies by area) | Download speed |
Fiber 200 and Home Phone Unlimited | Entry level fiber plan and unlimited home phone minutes in the US and Canada | From $90 | 200 Mbps |
Fiber 940 and Home Phone Unlimited | Fastest fiber plan and unlimited home phone minutes in the US and Canada | From $110 | 940 Mbps |
Simply Unlimited and Home Phone Unlimited | Internet for non-Fiber homes and unlimited home phone minutes in the US and Canada plus any DirecTV package | From $90 | 20-200 Mbps* |
The reason for there only being three bundles is that there’s only one CenturyLink Home Phone plan. It comes with unlimited calls in the US and Canada plus reduced rates for Mexico and Latin America.
You may have noticed that the price is ‘from $xx’. That’s because the price varies from area to area. To get a direct quote, you’ll need to speak to CenturyLink. We’ll show you how to get hold of them later on in this article.
You’ll be able to add additional lines to your plan for an additional, undisclosed cost also.
By the way, you can also bundle CenturyLink with DirecTV from AT&T. But this won’t actually save you any money on your monthly bill.
Other Deals With CenturyLink Business Internet
CenturyLink business customers can get their hands on a few extra deals when they sign up for an internet plan. Here’s a look at some of the best bits.
1. Free $100 Mastercard card and Amazon Fire Stick
New customers with CenturyLink Internet will be able to grab this card and cool piece of kit free of charge when signing up for a new plan. Terms and conditions apply, of course.
2. Referral rewards
Know another business owner who might benefit from CenturyLink’s internet services? How about a friend or family member? You can get rewarded for that.
CenturyLink will pay out $50 for each referral to plans of speeds up to 99 Mbps and $100 for all plans over this speed.
Get Started With CenturyLink Business Internet
In the mood to get your business online with CenturyLink? You can carry out your order online. Just follow these quick steps:
- Enter your address: Type in your business address at the CenturyLink website to see which plans are available where you are.
- Choose your plan: From the options presented to you, pick what you think is best for your business.
- Complete your order: Now, it’s time to enter your personal details and check out by following the instructions on screen. You’re ready to go!
How to Contact CenturyLink
If you have any issues with your order or need to ask any other questions, you can reach CenturyLink in two ways:
- Live chat: The simplest way to get in contact is via live chat on the website.
- Over the phone: If you prefer, you can reach out to CenturyLink over the phone by calling 800 244 1111
You’ll be able to access these contact methods Monday to Friday between 8am and 6pm in your local time.
With either contact method, CenturyLink can also help you transfer your business internet from one location to another.
Availability of CenturyLink Business Internet
CenturyLink’s business internet plans are available in 15 states across the US. You can view those states on the map below:

It should be noted that not all land in each CenturyLink state will be able to get business internet. It should be available in most cities, but rural areas are patchier.
Plus, as mentioned before, rural areas are likely to get slower internet speeds than cities.
By the way, in case you’re wondering why there’s such a big gap between the main coverage area and Florida, I can explain.
So, if you live in one of the states below, you might want to check out Brightspeed’s business internet plans instead:

Fiber availability
CenturyLink is currently trying to roll out fiber internet to as much of their coverage area as possible. But for the time being, as it is a fairly new project, fiber availability is pretty limited.
Fiber is available from CenturyLink in the following cities:
Boulder, CO | Denver, CO | Fort Meyers, FL | Idaho Falls, ID | Minneapolis, MN |
Ocala, FL | Omaha, NE | Orlando, FL | Phoenix, AZ | Portland, OR |
Salt Lake City, FL | Seattle, WA | Spokane, WA | Springfield, MO | Tucson, AZ |
If you’re not based in one of these cities, you’ll have to make do with Simply Unlimited internet.
You can find out more about CenturyLink’s availability here.
CenturyLink Business Internet vs. the Competition
Some people will be lucky enough to have a choice of internet providers to get their business online. I’ve compiled a few of the main competitors for you to weigh up side by side.
CenturyLink vs. Cox
Cox beats CenturyLink in these areas:
- Extra business support
- Faster internet speeds
However, CenturyLink comes out on top like this:
- More affordable month by month
- Less hidden fees
Cox is a huge internet provider. As you would expect, they have some pretty good internet options. And one of the key things about them is that they provide extra business support.
The states in which CenturyLink and Cox compete with one another are:
Arkansas | Georgia | Kansas | Louisiana | North Carolina |
Ohio | Oklahoma | Virginia |
CenturyLink vs. Xfinity
Comcast’s Xfinity business internet will be the better option in these circumstances:
- You want superfast internet, as Xfinity can supply up to 6 Gbps
- You need extra business support
Although, you’re probably going to want to opt for CenturyLink for these reasons:
- It’s more affordable in terms of price per month
- Bundles with landline services are great
Xfinity offers the joint-fastest internet plan in the whole of the US. That makes it the better option for very large business owners.
CenturyLink and Xfinity share availability in the following states:
Arizona | Colorado | Florida | Idaho | Minnesota |
New Mexico | Oregon | Utah | Washington |
CenturyLink Business Internet FAQ
Still got questions about CenturyLink’s business internet? You can find the answers below.
Why are CenturyLink’s business internet plans the same price as their residential ones?
A lot of internet providers will charge a lot more for their business internet plans than for their residential plans. This is usually because you’ll get extra support for your business with these providers. You may also get a backup for if your internet goes down
CenturyLink does not offer this extra level of support (for the most part) or a backup, but it does offer great value for money!
Why should I sign up for business internet instead of residential internet?
Of course, the business and residential plans from CenturyLink are the same speeds and prices. So it doesn’t make much difference as to which one you go to.
The main reason you may wish to sign up via the business channel is that your sales representative will be able to offer business-oriented advice.
Are CenturyLink’s business and residential internet availability the same?
Yes. You’ll be able to get business and residential internet from CenturyLink in all the same places. That can be said of both Simply Unlimited and Fiber.
Concluding On CenturyLink Business Internet
Even though CenturyLink doesn’t offer the same extent of business support as some of the competitors, it’s still definitely worth considering for small businesses at least.
CenturyLink Fiber in particular offers brilliant value for money. For sure, the availability is limited, but you won’t find 1 Gig of fiber internet for much cheaper than this company.
If you want to go for a faster speed, perhaps AT&T’s 2 Gig plan would be better suited to you.