Lumen Technologies and Corning Incorporated announced an agreement for a substantial supply of optical-fiber cable. The high-fiber-count cable “will more than double Lumen’s U.S. intercity fiber miles, offering significant capacity to major cloud data centers racing to stay ahead of AI workloads and high-bandwidth applications fueled by massive amounts of data,” Corning said when announcing the agreement.
Corning said Lumen has reserved 10% of Corning’s global fiber capacity for the next two years. It will mark the first outside-plant deployment of Corning’s new gen-AI fiber and cable system, the company added.
“The agreement, Lumen’s largest cable purchase, will equip Lumen to meet network infrastructure needs of major data center operators for years to come, including Microsoft, which announced last week that it’s investing with Lumen to support the rising demand on its data centers,” Corning’s statement added.
“The rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence requires at least 10 times more fiber connections within data centers, as well as a robust fiber network to transmit information between these data hubs,” according to Corning.
Lumen’s president and chief executive officer Kate Johnson said the company “is the network that delivers AI. The rise of AI is driving technology companies to quickly secure fiber and bandwidth before their competition. With Corning’s innovative solutions, we’re building the backbone of the AI economy. This partnership gives Lumen status as a preferred partner and secures a significant supply of next-generation fiber today and in the future.”
