Windstream Isn't the Company It Used to Be

Sometimes, a company has to enter new markets to survive the maturation of its older business. Windstream provides an example, as it is not the “rural telco” it was in 2006. Today, it is something closer to a “competitive local exchange carrier,” earning the bulk of its revenue from business customers.

Sure, Windstream now is more a “national” provider, where it used to be a “regional” service provider. But the big change is where it derives its revenue. In the past, it has made most of its money from rural consumers. Now, it makes most of its money from business segment customers, increasingly in instances where it does not own or operate full facilities-based access networks.

In fact, both Windstream and Frontier Communications, another firm whose legacy business could aptly be described as “rural consumers,” now make a majority of revenue from the business customer segment.