Dive Brief:

• CenturyLink and Level 3 Communications are reportedly in advanced discussions to merge, according to The Wall Street Journal.
• If the two companies reach a deal, the combined entity would be worth over $50B.
• A deal could be announced next week, sources said. Both companies declined to comment.

Dive Insight:

Competition and convergence in the telecom arena has been fast and furious. But this particular merger, should it happen, could have bigger implications for the enterprise, as Level 3 focuses exclusively on enterprise services.

CenturyLink has been investing heavily in its network over the last several years, and has dabbled in other areas like cloud services. But earlier this month, Reuters reported investment firm BC Partners was the lead bidder for CenturyLink’s data center business, suggesting the company is looking to make some changes.

Telecom companies are in a land grab to build out their networks and attract more customers, but the area is extremely competitive and expensive. On Wednesday, Google announced plans to "pause" its operations in potential Google Fiber cities until further notice.