Mar. 5-Martinsville-CenturyLink warns of copper theft in the Martinsville and Patrick County Area.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: March 5, 2012 Simone Alley, 434.971.1064 Simone.Alley@centurylink.com CenturyLink warns of copper theft in Martinsville and Patrick County Areas. Thieves Face Years in Prison and Thousands of Dollars in Fines Martinsville, Va – CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) is experiencing copper cable thefts impacting the Martinsville and Patrick County area. The cost is more than financial, as these thefts can cause outages that can impact customer service and safety, including hospitals, schools and public safety organizations. Officials believe that the copper is taken to recycling centers and sold as scrap. “Stealing cable puts entire communities at risk,� said Rondi Furgason, vice president and general manager for CenturyLink in Virginia.“Imagine having a loved one suddenly in need of emergency medical assistance, only to find 911 services don’t work because someone cut the cable to steal the copper. This is a crime that impacts everyone.� The price of copper has risen dramatically in the past few years and tactics used to steal it have become more creative. Some thieves have even begun climbing poles to steal aerial copper wire. This approach puts customer service and safety at risk and costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair annually. The law enforcement community has taken notice of the thieves’ creative attempts to steal copper and have stepped up their prosecution. In a recent Oregon court sentence, the defendant was found guilty on three counts and sentenced to 26 months in State Prison for the theft of CenturyLink copper. In addition, the defendant was ordered to pay CenturyLink more than $60,000 for the damage and will be under post-prison supervision for two years following release. Aside from the potential for arrest, there have been dozens of reports nationwide of copper thieves being electrocuted while attempting to steal copper cable from power companies. CenturyLink reminds the community that legitimate technicians will drive vehicles that display a company logo and wear CenturyLink (or another company’s) clothing. If CenturyLink employees are doing roadside work, community members will see the typical safety equipment such as orange vests and hard hats. In addition, there will be flaggers if the road is blocked, plus orange cones and traffic signage. “If you see individuals working on telephone wires without this equipment, especially at odd hours, call 911 immediately,� Furgason said. “By keeping a watchful eye, more of these criminals can be put behind bars.� 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 CenturyLinkTM PrismTM 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.