Lumen Accelerates Multi-Billion-Dollar Network Expansion to Meet Soaring AI Demand

Progress in 2025 includes millions of new fiber miles, significant added network capacity, and coast-to-coast build momentum

“AI is fueling a surge in network demand like we’ve never seen, and Lumen is building the backbone to meet it,” said Kye Prigg, executive vice president, enterprise operations, Lumen Technologies. "This isn’t incremental – we plan to more than double the size of our U.S. network. We’re positioning Lumen as the trusted network for AI, ensuring our customers have the network scale, speed, and reliability to confidently innovate and grow without constraints.”

2025 milestones on the road to 47 million intercity fiber miles:

• Deployed New Fiber: Added more than 2.2 million new intercity fiber miles(2,500+ route miles) and projected to reach 16.6 million total intercity fiber miles by year end. Lumen is utilizing next-generation fiber optic cable from Corning Incorporated to fit two times more fiber into existing conduit.
• Constructed Signal Boosters: Construction efforts underway at 176 In-Line Amplifier (ILA) sites. ILA shelters built on these sites serve as giant signal boosters along the Lumen network with up to triple the power density compared to traditional ILA shelters and are designed to be updated, renewed, and scaled for the future.
• Expanded Conduit Access: Completed IRU conduit deployments across 55 additional routes expanding Lumen’s ability to add and control fiber on these routes by securing long-term rights to underground pathways.
• Increased Network Capacity: Added 5.9+ Pbps of total capacity to the Lumen network so far this year, preparing to deliver the bandwidth needed to handle large volumes of data processing.
• Extended Faster Speeds: Earmarked more than $100 million to bring high-speed connectivity up to 400Gbps across clouds, data centers, and metros, creating a more seamless, high-performance pipeline for AI workloads. The Lumen 400G-enabled network now spans more than 100,000 route miles.

Lumen Private Connectivity Fabric is designed for AI workloads. By using fiber with 25% less optical loss than competitors2 and 60% more capacity than traditional designs, PCF helps move data more efficiently and at greater scale. The Lumen network achieves latency less than five milliseconds at the edge, covering up to 97% of U.S. business demand. And with diverse routes connecting more than 50 major cities, Lumen operates the largest ultra-low-loss intercity fiber network in North America.

“Every mile of new fiber and capacity upgrade adds to the strength of our Private Connectivity Fabric. Lumen is doing more than expanding infrastructure, we’re laying the foundation for the AI economy,” added Prigg.

Source: Lumen media announcement