- Verizon will use the Corning fiber for cell backhaul, AI connectivity and FTTP
- Verizon is connecting AI data centers as part of its AI Connect program
- This deal is another boon for Corning, which recently got a $500 million investment commitment from Nvidia
Verizon said today that it signed a multi-billion-dollar deal with Corning to supply it with high-density optical fiber and other connectivity products from 2027 to 2032.
Verizon will use the fiber for fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) builds, cellular backhaul and national long-haul fiber connectivity for AI hyperscalers. Verizon today said it has a goal of passing 40-50 million locations with its fiber broadband.
Of the Corning deal, Kyle Malady, CEO of Verizon Business, said,“Securing this volume of fiber allows us to continue building the network of the future at an unprecedented scale. 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.”
Cell towers, enterprise data centers, and residential neighborhoods will connect to the same high-capacity backbone.
In addition, Verizon’s fiber network build will support AI hyperscalers. During its second quarter 2026 earnings call, Verizon CEO Dan Schulman disclosed that Verizon signed an agreement with Google that is “well in excess of a billion dollars” for Google to use Verizon’s dark fiber to connect data centers. And Schulman said, “We have other deals that we expect to announce by year-end that, taken together, are expected to be worth multiple billions of dollars in revenue over the next several years.”
These deals are part of an initiative inside Verizon called AI Connect, which was launched in 2025 under former Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg.
Today, Verizon said that through AI Connect, the company is deploying ultra-dense cables across major long-haul corridors to directly connect data centers for AI hyperscalers, including Amazon Web Services (AWS).
While some hyperscalers are hiring fiber builders to connect data centers, bypassing towns and cities along the way, Verizon today seemed to imply that it is not doing that. It said its fiber networks “help ensure that AI’s benefits can reach consumers, businesses, schools and communities….seamlessly connecting customers, while advancing the national backbone of technology.”
Corning’s part to play
Verizon stated, “An undertaking of this magnitude requires absolute supply chain certainty. To power this buildout, Verizon is deepening its 30-year strategic partnership with Corning.”
In May, Corning said that Nvidia was investing $500 million in Corning to help it build three new manufacturing plants in the U.S. — in North Carolina and Texas.
The plants will increase Corning’s U.S.-based optical connectivity manufacturing capacity by 10x and expand its U.S. fiber production capacity by more than 50% to meet the accelerating demand driven by AI factory buildouts.
Today, Mike O’Day, SVP and general manager of Corning Optical Communications, said, “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."
Read more about the booming fiber industry:
Verizon touts $1B deal with Google to connect AI data centers
Here's one fiber network builder who doesn't leave communities behind
Corning to build 3 new optical plants in the U.S. with a little ($500M) help from Nvidia
Corning expects an annualized revenue run rate of $20B for 2026