AT&T Follows Verizon With Multibillion-Dollar Corning Fiber Agreement

AT&T is investing more than $3 billion over the next several years in fiber supplied by Corning as it expands its wired network to meet rising broadband demand.

Under the multiyear agreement, US-based Corning will provide fiber and cable for AT&T's network expansion. AT&T said the rollout is linked to extending internet connectivity as artificial intelligence drives higher data consumption.

The carrier said its average fiber customer now uses more than one terabyte of data each month, five times the level recorded 10 years ago. AT&T expects monthly usage to reach between two and 2.5 terabytes by 2030 as streaming, gaming, video calls, cloud services, and AI become more common.

The agreement supports AT&T's broader fiber strategy. The company plans to pass more than 30 million locations and reach 60 million fiber-connected internet customers by the end of 2030.

AT&T executives have repeatedly described fiber as the company's preferred transport medium. CEO John Stankey said fiber broadband provides a superior customer product and can support stronger customer retention and long-term value.

Earlier this year, CFO Pascal Desroches said data center connectivity depends on the carrier's network assets, particularly its fiber infrastructure, as workloads become increasingly focused on AI.

“AI doesn't exist without our connectivity … plain and simple,” Desroches said during the 2026 Mizuho Technology Conference. “And we know one thing for sure: data consumption is going to continue to go up under AI.”

Corning expands its fiber agreements

AT&T's agreement follows Verizon's own multiyear, multibillion-dollar deal with Corning. That agreement calls for Corning to supply Verizon with more than 80 million miles of high-density optical fiber through 2032.

Although Verizon did not disclose a specific financial figure, it described the arrangement as a multibillion-dollar deal running through 2032. Verizon expects the fiber deployment to support up to 50 million broadband passings in the United States. The network will serve fiber-to-the-home and local business connections, as well as cell towers, data centers, and residential areas through a shared high-capacity backbone.

Verizon also highlighted its 30-year relationship with Corning. The expansion will use Corning's Contour Flow ribbon cable, which is designed to allow operators to deploy substantially more optical fiber within existing conduit pathways.

The carrier linked the project to its AI Connect strategy, describing high-density fiber as essential to the AI infrastructure buildout led by hyperscalers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS). Verizon has an AI-focused networking agreement with AWS.

Corning has also announced recent fiber agreements with Zayo, AWS, and Nvidia, reflecting demand for optical infrastructure from telecommunications providers, cloud companies, and AI-related deployments.