Lumen help
Thank you for selecting Lumen as your content delivery network (CDN) provider. As a trusted provider of CDN services, Lumen is dedicated to making your experience with us positive in every regard. From sales to service activation and CDN operations, we strive to deliver uncompromising service.
Part of our commitment to you is to anticipate your needs and efficiently provide straightforward, thorough answers to your questions. To help meet that commitment, we developed this customer handbook to guide you through our support structure—no matter what solution set we are delivering.
Today, Lumen connects more people in more countries than ever before with next-generation voice, data, video and managed solutions over a seamless, global IP network. We are focused on continuously optimizing our processes, network and systems. This handbook is a reference to the people and processes you can rely on—from sales account teams to customer care, implementation, service management, billing and portals.
This customer handbook offers a quick-reference guide to:
As always, we welcome your feedback. If you have questions or suggestions related to this handbook, please email us at CDNSupport@lumen.com.
We appreciate your business,
Your Lumen team
Lumen is changing the business of content delivery by combining the advantages of an industry-leading Internet backbone with a sophisticated and proven content delivery network (CDN) platform.
This combination allows us to connect you with the benefits of our high-performance, highly scalable service—and deliver those services in a simplified, cost-effective manner. Our full suite of CDN services also allows you the flexibility to move between our network services as your content delivery requirements evolve.
Business Solutions
Lumen can help you deliver
As a new customer, you can access knowledgeable resources for support across every step of service setup and delivery.
Account director (AD)
Your account director (AD) provides information about Lumen services and serves as your overall point of contact. Responsible for gathering and confirming the specifications and requirements necessary to submit an order, your account director works with you to execute all quotes and orders for new and additional Lumen services and assists you through the credit-application process.
Sales engineer (SE)
Your sales engineer (SE) works with you to identify technical options and define requirements for your services. The sales engineer is responsible for understanding your existing network, key locations and potential needs. This source for technical information works to help tailor network solutions to meet your specific needs and manages the engineering portion of your service quote as well as the inventory and capacity process for your orders.
Customer care manager
Your customer care manager (CCM) proactively manages your service needs to ensure the highest levels of customer satisfaction and serves as the conduit and escalation point for issues in the areas of order entry, order validation, service activation, disconnects and billing activities.
Activation engineer
Your activation engineer will contact you regarding the technical details of the service upon handover. Your activation engineer works to ensure that service activation meets the technical specifications of your order, addresses any issues with testing and turn-up, and handles technical account management.
CDN support technician
Your CDN support technician is your single point of contact for post-installation support, and handles service changes, account inquiries and service impairments. Behind the scenes, your CDN support technician monitors the Lumen Media portal queue for tickets pertaining to customer services and routes tickets to the appropriate internal and external support agents until your issue is resolved.
Billing coordinator
Your billing coordinator (BC) is your single point of contact for requests pertaining to billing inquiries, disputes, credits, balance, and payment information. Your billing coordinator can provide you with an overview of the billing capabilities in Media portal and coordinate more advanced training as needed. Your billing coordinator will collaborate with other Lumen resources as needed.
Issue |
Contact group |
Contact information |
Targeted interval |
Hours of operation |
Service activation |
Sales engineer |
Direct email and phone number for assigned SE |
3 business days from customer signature |
8:00am–5:00pm MT, M–F |
Service changes |
CDN Support |
877‑612‑9015 720‑888‑0080 |
4 hours |
24/7 |
Service impairments (support ticket) |
CDN Support |
877‑612‑9015 720‑888‑0080 |
15‑minute response time 6‑hour resolution time |
24/7 |
Media portal issues (support ticket) |
CDN Support |
877‑612‑9015 720‑888‑0080 |
24 hours |
24/7 |
Billing issues |
CDN Support |
Access account information in Media portal, or call |
Resolution by start of next billing cycle |
8:00am–8:00pm ET, M–F |
Accurate and timely order submission
Our goal is to meet your due dates and ensure your services are turned up on time. Your account director works with you to confirm we have what we need to complete your order. Once we gather your requirements, your account director will provide you with the necessary signature documents that authorize us to proceed with service installation.
Order types
Various order types may be used during your service activation process:
Key service identifiers
You may need the key service identifiers listed below to manage your services. Please contact your account director or a video services coordinator with any questions.
Service ID | Example | Applies to | Used for | Where you find it |
Property | cdn.example.com | Caching and download | CDN support reference Media portal | Activation email Media portal |
Streaming ID | level3live‑live or level3 | Streaming | CDN support reference Media portal | Activation email Media portal |
Ingest/Hostname | world.ingest.cdn.level3.net | Origin Storage | CDN support reference Media portal | Activation email Media portal |
PIID (Product Instance Identifier) Service ID | ABCD1234 | All services | Billing | Invoice activation email Media portal |
SCID (Service Component Identifier) Supporting ID | ABCD12345 | All services | Billing | Invoice activation email Media portal |
Trialing CDN services
To trial any of the CDN services, please contact your account director. Your trial experience will follow the same processes outlined in this document, through service activation and CDN support, so you experience the end-to-end operational touchpoints. This includes access to Media portal for online management of your services.
Once your service is activated, you will receive a service connection notice containing the technical details and support information for your service.
This email includes:
Invoicing
Lumen provides you with a monthly invoice for all installed services, with the details you need to verify charges. Depending on your services, your charges may include:
Billing cycles and delivery
Your Lumen invoice is delivered monthly. If you have a U.S. billing address, invoices are mailed in paper or electronic format. If you have a non-U.S. billing address, invoices are first emailed to a central depository in London, then printed and distributed from there.
If your bill only includes a partial month, it is prorated based on a calendar month. All undisputed invoices are due in accordance with your master service agreement (MSA). You have the option of sending electronic payments to Lumen via electronic funds transfer (EFT). Please contact your account director about using EFT.
Questions about your invoice
If you have questions about your bill or find issues, you can open a billing request in Media portal (under the Billing tab) and then track, update, or cancel requests. You can also communicate with your billing analyst.nquiries or disputes using Media portal.
Non-payment
Payment is governed by the terms and conditions of your MSA. Failure to make a payment when due may subject your service to interruption and result in termination of your service agreement.
Early termination
If you choose to disconnect service prior to the end of your service term, early termination charges may apply. For services nearing the agreed-upon termination date, the disconnect request must be received 30 calendar days prior to the contract termination date. Otherwise, your service may continue to be provided by Lumen on a month-to-month basis or as otherwise set forth in your MSA. If the cessation date is the same as your service term end date, no termination fees will apply.
Lumen embraces a strong operational philosophy that is customer focused and highly responsive. Strict performance metrics drive our internal organizations to deliver quality service to you on a consistent basis. In the event an issue arises with your service, we work to quickly to answer your questions and resolve issues.
CDN support locations and schedule
The Lumen CDN support centers operate 24/7 in the following redundant operating locations:
Multi-language support is available upon request.
CDN support technician
Once your Lumen service has been installed, a CDN support technician will be your single point of contact for service- related issues. The CDN support technician is trained to quickly address technical issues related to your service. The primary objective of a CDN support technician is to provide start-to-finish accountability for network service performance and to drive the resolution of issues based on the first call.
You can reach a CDN support technician at any time. The CDN support technician will create a ticket with a reference number for tracking. Your technician will initiate several tests and processes to determine a fault and fix agent. The technician will either solve the problem or collaborate with internal or external fix agents until a resolution is established.
Customer-reported service impairment
If you experience trouble with your Lumen service, we will work to resolve your issue in the shortest time possible. To facilitate troubleshooting, please be prepared to provide the following required information:
The Lumen CDN network operations center (NOC) is responsible for all facilities and network management, monitoring and repair. The organization staffs highly trained operations managers and network technicians at regional monitoring centers located in Broomfield, CO and Tulsa, OK. These centers enable geographically diverse, 24/7 network management.
Lumen has uniformly implemented operational processes across all Lumen Gateway Data Centers globally. By maintaining this consistency, we enhance effectiveness and efficiency—resulting in swift fault isolation and repair.
The CDN NOC performs regular network connectivity performance reviews. If a problem is detected, the group follows documented procedures to restore service. The CDN NOC is responsible for performing the following repair-related functions:
Severities matrix
Severity value | Definition | Examples |
Urgent | Reserved for network‑wide impact to multiple customers |
|
High | Issue indicating large geographic impact to serving content for a single customer or exposure to invalid content serving |
|
Medium | Significant performance issue, possibly regionally isolated or inhibiting proper content serving |
|
Low | Isolated performance issue, |
|
CDN support escalations
Escalations happen when progress is not being made. You have the option to escalate to any level in the Lumen organization at any time:
Escalation level | Contacts |
First level | Name: CDN Support Title: Support technician Phone: 877‑612‑9015 or 720‑888‑0080 Email: CDNsupport@lumen.com |
Second level | Name: Chris Smith Title: Sr. manager, CDN Service Management Phone: 720‑888‑7436 Email: chris.smith@lumen.com |
Third level | Name: Rick Gibson Title: Director, CDN Operations Phone: 720‑888‑7085 Email: rick.gibson@lumen.com |
There are two different types of network maintenance: scheduled and unscheduled. To ensure top performance and grow the network, Lumen performs scheduled network maintenance. Unscheduled maintenance happens, but we are ready.
Scheduled maintenance
We plan scheduled network maintenance with as much advanced notice to you as possible. Our standardized methods and procedures ensure efficient and prompt handling of all changes, to minimize the adverse impact of change-related incidents on service quality.
Lumen sends email notifications about scheduled maintenance events that address:
Support
Lumen Media portal provides secure and private access to view and download invoices, generate service order requests, run network traffic and performance reports, open trouble tickets, and more:
You will receive your portal credentials when Lumen completes the first CDN service you ordered.
We designate one user—typically your technical contact—as the first delegated administrator for Media portal. Use this administrator account to create additional user accounts and assign permissions.
There are many transactions you can do independently in the Media portal.
What can I do in Media portal?
CCD | Customer commit date | The date that Lumen expects to deliver service to you. |
CDN | Content delivery network | A network of distributed servers facilitating content delivery services. |
CCM | Customer care manager | Manages order entry and service implementation. |
ICB | Individual‑case basis | A determination upon analysis of your specific type of service and requirements. |
MSA | Master service agreement | A contract that documents the terms and conditions applicable to your services. |
MTTR | Mean time to repair | A standard measurement for service restoration. |
MRC | Monthly recurring charges | Charges that are billed every month on your account. |
NOC | Network operations center | The Lumen CDN NOC is responsible for all Lumen facilities and network management, monitoring, and repair 24/7. |
NRC | Non‑recurring charges | A one‑time charge on your account (i.e., activation fee). |
NSA | Non‑service affecting | Any scheduled maintenance activity that will not impact your service. |
SA | Service affecting | Any scheduled maintenance activity that will directly impact your service. |