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Revenue Recognition
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]  
Revenue Recognition
Note 3—Revenue Recognition

We categorize our revenue derived from our operations serving our Mass Markets customers, primarily within the first three categories listed below, and our revenue derived from our operations servicing our Business customers, primarily in the 'Harvest', 'Nurture' and 'Grow' categories listed below:
•Other Broadband, under which we provide primarily lower speed broadband services to residential and small business customers utilizing our copper-based network infrastructure;

•Voice and Other, under which we derive revenues from (i) providing local and long-distance services, professional services, and other ancillary services, (ii) federal broadband and state support payments, and (iii) equipment, IT solutions and other services;

•Fiber Broadband, under which we provide high speed broadband services to residential and small business customers utilizing our fiber-based network infrastructure;

•Harvest, which includes our legacy services managed for cash flow, including Time Division Multiplexing voice and private line services;

•Nurture, which includes our more mature offerings, including primarily ethernet;

•Grow, which includes existing and emerging products and services in which we are significantly investing, including our dark fiber and wavelengths services; and

•Affiliate Services, which are (i) communications services that we provide to our affiliates and also provide to external customers and (ii) application development and support services that we provide to our affiliates, as described further in Note 14—Affiliate Transactions.
Reconciliation of Total Revenue to Revenue from Contracts with Customers

The following tables provide our total revenue by product and service category as well as the amount of revenue that is not subject to ASC 606, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers" ("ASC 606"), but is instead governed by other accounting standards:
 Year Ended December 31, 2024
Total Revenue
Adjustments for Non-ASC 606 Revenue(1)
Total Revenue from Contracts with Customers
 (Dollars in millions)
Other Broadband$932 (79)853 
Voice and Other521 (14)507 
Fiber Broadband377 (12)365 
Harvest939 (118)821 
Nurture357 (8)349 
Grow133 (6)127 
Affiliate Services2,249 (48)2,201 
Total revenue$5,508 (285)5,223 
Timing of revenue
Goods and services transferred at a point in time$13 
Services performed over time5,210 
Total revenue from contracts with customers$5,223 

 Year Ended December 31, 2023
Total Revenue
Adjustments for Non-ASC 606 Revenue(1)
Total Revenue from Contracts with Customers
 (Dollars in millions)
Other Broadband$1,111 (95)1,016 
Voice and Other589 (16)573 
Fiber Broadband473 (12)461 
Harvest1,047 (139)908 
Nurture393 (8)385 
Grow143 — 143 
Affiliate Services2,159 (45)2,114 
Total revenue$5,915 (315)5,600 
Timing of revenue
Goods and services transferred at a point in time$23 
Services performed over time5,577 
Total revenue from contracts with customers$5,600 
 Year Ended December 31, 2022
Total Revenue
Adjustments for Non-ASC 606 Revenue(1)
Total Revenue from Contracts with Customers
 (Dollars in millions)
Other Broadband$1,275 (106)1,169 
Voice and Other691 (31)660 
Fiber Broadband462 (12)450 
Harvest1,134 (161)973 
Nurture435 (9)426 
Grow158 (9)149 
Affiliate Services2,294 (45)2,249 
Total revenue$6,449 (373)6,076 
Timing of revenue
Goods and services transferred at a point in time$28 
Services performed over time6,048 
Total revenue from contracts with customers$6,076 
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(1)Includes regulatory revenue and lease revenue not within the scope of ASC 606.

We do not have any single external customer that comprises more than 10% of our total consolidated operating revenue. Substantially all of our consolidated revenue comes from customers located in the United States.

Customer Receivables and Contract Balances

The following table provides balances of customer receivables, contract assets and contract liabilities:

As of December 31,
20242023
 (Dollars in millions)
Customer receivables, less allowance of $23 million and $29 million
$205 210 
Contract assets— 7 
Contract liabilities244 269 

Contract liabilities consist of consideration we have received from our customers or billed in advance of providing goods or services promised in the future. We defer recognizing this consideration as revenue until we have satisfied the related performance obligation to the customer. Contract liabilities include recurring services billed one month in advance and installation and maintenance charges that are deferred and recognized over the actual or expected contract term, which ranges from one to five years depending on the service. Contract liabilities are included within deferred revenue in our consolidated balance sheets. During the years ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, we recognized $175 million and $169 million, respectively, of revenue that was included in contract liabilities of $269 million and $343 million as of January 1, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Performance Obligations

As of December 31, 2024, we expect to recognize approximately $2.2 billion of revenue in the future related to performance obligations associated with existing customer contracts that are partially or wholly unsatisfied. As of December 31, 2024, the transaction price related to unsatisfied performance obligations that are expected to be recognized in 2025, 2026 and thereafter was $944 million, $832 million, and $452 million, respectively.
These amounts exclude (i) the value of unsatisfied performance obligations for contracts for which we recognize revenue at the amount to which we have the right to invoice for services performed (for example, uncommitted usage or non-recurring charges associated with professional or technical services to be completed), and (ii) contracts that are classified as leasing arrangements that are not subject to ASC 606.

Contract Costs

The following tables provide changes in our contract acquisition costs and fulfillment costs:

Year Ended December 31, 2024
Acquisition CostsFulfillment Costs
 (Dollars in millions)
Beginning of period balance$58 46 
Costs incurred32 34 
Amortization(39)(34)
End of period balance$51 46 

Year Ended December 31, 2023
Acquisition CostsFulfillment Costs
 (Dollars in millions)
Beginning of period balance$61 46 
Costs incurred43 38 
Amortization(46)(38)
End of period balance$58 46 

Acquisition costs include commission fees paid to employees as a result of obtaining contracts. Fulfillment costs include third party and internal costs associated with the provision, installation and activation of communications services to customers, including labor and materials consumed for these activities.

We amortize deferred acquisition and fulfillment costs based on the transfer of services on a straight-line basis over the average contract life of 50 months for Mass Markets customers and average contract life of 35 months for Business customers. We include amortized fulfillment costs in cost of services and products and amortized acquisition costs are included in selling, general and administrative expenses in our consolidated statements of operations. We include the amount of these deferred costs that are anticipated to be amortized in the next 12 months in other current assets on our consolidated balance sheets. We include the amount of deferred costs expected to be amortized beyond the next 12 months in other non-current assets on our consolidated balance sheets. We assess deferred acquisition and fulfillment costs for impairment on a quarterly basis.
Governmental Funding

Lumen participates in various U.S. federal and state programs under which government support payments are received to offset costs associated with providing services in targeted locations such as unserved or underserved high-cost or rural areas, or for certain types of customers, including non-profit organizations, educational institutions and local governmental bodies. In certain instances, support payments are conditioned on specified infrastructure buildouts by milestone deadlines or provision of services at specified locations and speed requirements. Commitments may be made annually, on a multi-year basis ranging from one to 10 years or be on-going subject to periodic change or termination. Consistent with customary practice and as referenced in ASC 832 Government Assistance, Lumen applies a grant model of accounting by which it accounts for these transactions as non-ASC 606 revenue over the periods in which the costs for which the funding is intended to compensate are incurred. This non-ASC 606 revenue is included in operating revenue in our consolidated statements of operations. Corresponding receivables are recorded when services have been provided to the customers and costs incurred, but the cash has not been received. These amounts are included in our accounts receivable, less allowance in our consolidated balance sheets. Certain programs are subject to audits of compliance with program commitments and, subject to the outcomes of those assessments, Lumen may be required to reimburse the government entity for cash previously received, or, in some cases, pay a penalty. Lumen evaluates each program and establishes a liability under the principles of ASC 450 if it is probable support payments will be recaptured or a penalty will be imposed.

For the year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, we recorded non-customer revenue of $31 million and $36 million, respectively, under government assistance programs, of which 29% and 24%, respectively, was associated with state universal service fund support programs.

Between 2015 and 2021, Lumen received approximately $500 million annually through the Federal Communications Commission (the "FCC")'s Connect America Fund II ("CAF II"), a program that ended on December 31, 2021. Our share of this CAF II funding was approximately $145 million annually. In connection with the CAF II funding, we were required to meet certain specified infrastructure buildout requirements in 13 states by the end of 2021, which required substantial capital expenditures. In the first quarter of 2022, we recognized $13 million of previously deferred revenue related to the conclusion of the CAF II program based upon our final buildout and filing submissions. The government has the right to audit our compliance with the CAF II program and the ultimate outcome of any remaining examinations is unknown, but could result in a liability to us in excess of our accruals established for these matters.

In early 2020, the FCC created the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (the “RDOF”) program, a federal support program designed to fund broadband deployment in rural America. For the first phase of this program, RDOF Phase I, the FCC ultimately awarded $6.4 billion in support payments to be paid in equal monthly installments over 10 years. In the third quarter of 2024, we relinquished rights to develop certain RDOF census blocks in four states, which resulted in (i) a reduction of our anticipated RDOF Phase I support payments and (ii) an expectation of payment to the federal government. These impacts are expected to be immaterial.
We participate in multiple state sponsored programs for broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas for which the states have state universal service funds sourced from fees levied on telecommunications providers and passed on to consumers. During the year ended December 31, 2024, we participated in these types of programs primarily in the states of Nebraska and New Mexico. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we participated in these types of programs primarily in the states of Nebraska, New Mexico, and Minnesota