Windstream to buy PAETEC

Windstream Communications, the primary telecommunications provider in Lincoln and southeast Nebraska, announced Monday that it plans to acquire PAETEC Holding Corp., a local exchange carrier that serves 46 states.

The consolidation is just the latest in a string of considerable telecommunications mergers in recent years. Two of those were Monroe, La.-based CenturyLink's acquisitions of Qwest Communications and Savvis, a data center operator. Companies that have long relied on earnings from landline telephone service have looked to consolidations to cushion the losses of landline clients as they bolster their broadband operations.

Jeff Gardner, president and chief executive of Windstream said the company will continue to target areas of expanding business including broadband, data centers and cloud computing.