Lumen broadens NaaS reach to 10M locations

Lumen is taking on the next challenge facing providers looking to scale network as a service (NaaS) adoption: the ability to satisfy a customer’s desire to have one provider fulfill their needs, even those that are not within their service provider’s footprint. 

The service provider is making its Internet On-Demand service available to over 10 million new business locations, targeting business buildings and data centers.

This expansion extends Lumen’s Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) platform beyond its network footprint, allowing businesses nationwide to order and turn up cloud-like connectivity exactly where and when they need it without the traditional delays of network build-outs.

Overcoming geographic barriers

Offering a broader availability of NaaS is reminiscent of how service providers have been able to deliver Ethernet services outside of their traditional geographic boundaries.  

Lumen is focused on simplifying the off-net NaaS procurement process for large enterprises, mid-market businesses, and government agency customers.

The service provider said its customers “no longer need to worry about whether their facilities are inside or outside of Lumen’s network footprint.”

By procuring necessary last-mile connections with its wholesale carrier partners, Lumen claims its NaaS platform offers one seamless, self-service solution to connect offices, branches, and data centers 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.”    

Although Lumen is keen on enhancing its off-net NaaS reach, the service provider still has a large-scale fiber network that will also serve its growing AI customer and cloud services base.

With the Trump administration's AI action plan and recent tax legislation, Lumen sees an opportunity to grow from 16.6 million intercity fiber miles in 2025 to 47 million by the end of 2028. This massive network expansion is intended to serve as the backbone of the AI economy.

Pay-as-you-go connectivity

One key feature of the Lumen Internet On-Demand is that it will offer businesses pay-as-you-go connectivity.

This environment enables businesses to scale up or down within minutes as business needs change, whether that’s a traffic surge, seasonal demand, or a new service rollout.

Lumen’s expanded Internet On-Demand service complements its broader portfolio of on-demand solutions, including Ethernet On-Demand.

The suite of services includes Internet On-Demand for public connectivity, Ethernet On-Demand for layer 2 private connectivity, and IP VPN On-Demand for layer 3 private connectivity. Security features for Internet On-Demand include DDoS Essentials, which provides automated, multi-layered protection against volumetric attacks, and Lumen Defender℠, powered by Black Lotus Labs, offering threat intelligence and proactive blocking of malicious traffic before it reaches the network perimeter.

Initially, businesses will use a single-service port to connect to the Lumen Internet-On-Demand service. But the telco is not stopping there. Lumen plans to introduce what it calls a new multi-service network interface device featuring AI-driven monitoring, automatic troubleshooting, and plug-and-play deployment.

The suite of services includes Internet On-Demand for public connectivity, Ethernet On-Demand for layer 2 private connectivity, and IP VPN On-Demand for layer 3 private connectivity. Available security features for Internet On-Demand include DDoS Essentials for automated, multi-layered volumetric attack protection, and Lumen Defender℠, powered by Black Lotus Labs, to provide threat intelligence and proactively block malicious traffic before it reaches the network perimeter.

Initially, businesses will use a single-service port to connect to the Lumen Internet-On-Demand service. But the telco is not stopping there. Lumen plans to introduce what it calls a new multi-service network interface device featuring AI-driven monitoring, automatic troubleshooting, and plug-and-play deployment.

NaaS customer base accelerates

Lumen’s introduction of its off-net option comes at a time when the service provider continues to grow its NaaS customer base.

In August, it announced that it exceeded 1,000 customers on its NaaS platform.

Lumen NaaS has attracted top-tier brands including Best Buy, C3Aero, Churchill Downs ® Racetrack, Clearway Energy Group, Columbia Sportswear Company, Hanmi Bank, IVision, Foot Locker, MTNSat, and Pac-12 Enterprises.

Now, Lumen’s expanded coverage enables new service possibilities across industries, including retail, finance, healthcare and manufacturing. A retailer can use the NaaS service to deliver a consistent digital shopping experience at every store, from flagship locations in major metros to small shops in rural towns, while a financial company can use it to support secure, compliant, and reliable connectivity for branch offices.

Likewise, the healthcare and manufacturing sectors will also find utility with the service. Healthcare companies can provide clients, labs, and offices have the bandwidth for real-time data access and collaboration, while manufacturers can connect plants, warehouses, and offices under a single scalable model to help cut costs and complexity.

Lumen’s latest off-net NaaS capability has already been adopted by several of its customers, including Xcel Energy, a major U.S. energy provider that 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.

“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,” said Tim Peterson, chief technology officer for Xcel Energy. “This flexibility supports smarter, more resilient operations and accelerates our ability to deploy advanced grid analytics across our service areas.”

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