CenturyLink Provides Connectivity Service to Navy Hospital Ship; Edward Morche Quoted

CenturyLink deployed network equipment to facilitate connectivity for a U.S. Navy hospital ship when it docked Friday at the Port of Los Angeles.

The company said Saturday it will waive installation fees and a free gigabit ethernet bandwidth for 12 months to help USNS Mercy connect to the Defense Information Systems Agency’s shore-based infrastructure at Naval Air Station North Island.

The Navy is using the vessel to provide 1K beds and more than 800 health care workers to deliver medical services that are not associated with COVID-19, allowing local hospitals and health professionals to care for patients who contracted the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

“When the military reached out to us about providing dockside connectivity to the USNS Mercy with two days’ notice before it arrived in Los Angeles, we quickly put our network expertise to work to make it happen,” said Edward Morche, president of enterprise and government markets at CenturyLink.

“We are honored to be able to donate our time and services to support our nation’s military and healthcare professionals during these trying times,” Morche added.

The company worked with the port authority, military personnel and commercial entities in efforts to meet the 48-hour project timeline.