NEW YORK, Sept. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To meet surging demand for consumer broadband and converged services alongside emerging AI needs, Verizon and Corning have reached a multi-billion dollar agreement for 80+ million miles of high-density optical fiber and connectivity solutions from 2027 to 2032. The multi-use fiber deployment will accelerate broadband expansion for homes and businesses while building the national long-haul backbone required by AI hyperscalers.
"Securing this volume of fiber allows us to continue building the network of the future at an unprecedented scale," said Kyle Malady, CEO of Verizon Business. "We are deploying a single, converged architecture that unites mobile connectivity and broadband into one seamless experience for millions of families and businesses, while simultaneously building the high-capacity, low-latency backbone AI hyperscalers demand. With Corning as our partner, we are securing the physical foundation of America’s AI economy."
Unlocking Mobile and Broadband Convergence
This fiber supply accelerates Verizon’s push toward 40-50 million broadband passings. Expanding fiber-to-the-home and local business connectivity ensures communities across the nation gain access to ultra-fast, reliable internet, and the power to choose how they connect. Cell towers, enterprise data centers, and residential neighborhoods will connect to the exact same high-capacity backbone. For customers, this converged architecture delivers a frictionless digital experience—ensuring continuous, seamless connectivity whether they are at home or on the move.
Building the Backbone for the AI Era
Beyond enabling convergence, this multi-use fiber foundation serves as the physical engine for the AI era. Because heavy AI workloads demand near-zero latency and massive throughput, high-density fiber is essential to support the ever-growing scale of large language models (LLMs). Through Verizon’s AI Connect strategy, the company is deploying ultra-dense cables across major long-haul corridors to directly connect data centers. By expanding this critical interconnectivity, Verizon cements its position as the premier infrastructure partner for the world's leading AI hyperscalers, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS). Importantly, these fiber networks also help ensure that AI's benefits can reach consumers, businesses, schools, and communities. Verizon’s single, multi-use architecture addresses this need, seamlessly connecting customers, while advancing the national backbone of technology.
Fueled by 30 Years of Partnership with Corning
An undertaking of this magnitude requires absolute supply chain certainty. To power this buildout, Verizon is deepening its 30-year strategic partnership with Corning, the worldwide leading innovator and manufacturer of advanced glass and fiber optic technology.
The agreement is designed to enable Corning to continue to scale its U.S. manufacturing footprint to help ensure Verizon has the physical materials needed to execute its convergence strategy and expand its long-haul AI corridors. These include Corning® Contour™ Flow Cable, which enables Verizon to deploy significantly more optical fiber within conduit pathways. The flexible ribbon cable maximizes the value of Verizon’s infrastructure investments while substantially increasing network capacity and bandwidth.
“Corning is thrilled to deepen our three-decade partnership with Verizon as we provide our latest optical innovations in fiber, cable, and connectivity to link AI data centers together while ensuring more Americans have access to AI with high-speed fiber connections at home," said Mike O'Day, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Corning Optical Communications. “This partnership demonstrates that Gen AI and broadband expansion are part of the same transformative opportunity. Corning is proud to build on our 175-year legacy of supporting our customers' growth with breakthrough innovations that we manufacture at scale here in the United States.”
By merging local broadband access, mobile connectivity, and long-haul AI infrastructure onto a single high-capacity grid, Verizon reaffirms its role as the physical foundation of modern society—proving once again that when the world demands next-generation connectivity, Verizon builds the network.
This announcement was originally published by Verizon. Read the original press release.
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