CenturyLink is in a race against time and technology

In the new century, the old wired phone seems to have less relevance than ever. More than a third of U.S. homes now have only cellphones. CenturyLink, Minnesota's largest telephone company, is acutely aware of this trend.

In the third quarter of 2012 alone, CenturyLink's operating revenue dropped $25 million, mainly because of the continuing loss of individual telephone lines, the company said in government filings. While declining revenue from traditional phone service has plagued CenturyLink and other traditional telephone companies for several years, CenturyLink's vulnerability increased when it acquired the Twin Cities' largest phone company, Denver-based Qwest Communications, nearly two years ago. To combat the problem, CenturyLink has sought to bolster revenue through diversification into business services such as cloud computing. But so far that hasn't made up for all the revenue loss in its traditional phone business.