Zayo expands Corning agreement to secure fiber for AI network growth

Zayo expands Corning agreement to secure fiber for AI network growth

Zayo Group has expanded its existing strategic supply agreement with Corning Incorporated as it prepares to add 15,000 new route miles by 2030.

Zayo said the extended terms secure a significant portion of the fiber it expects to need through the remainder of the decade. The agreement supports the company's plans to expand infrastructure for growing demand from artificial intelligence workloads.

The company said securing fiber supplies in advance will give it more flexibility to scale as demand develops. Steve Smith, Zayo's CEO, said AI infrastructure is changing where and how quickly network capacity must be built. He added that strengthening the relationship with Corning would help ensure material availability does not delay infrastructure deployment.

Steve Mitchell, senior vice president at Corning Incorporated, said AI is increasing both the amount and density of fiber optic cable and connectivity required across networks. He said the expanded relationship combines Corning's optical technology with Zayo's network expertise to support the physical infrastructure needed for AI at scale.

In January of the previous year, Zayo announced plans to build 5,000 route miles of long-haul fiber across the United States by 2030 to support AI workloads. Smith later said in May that the planned buildout had tripled.

Zayo's updated plan to deploy 15,000 route miles by 2030 includes more than 8,000 miles of new long-haul fiber being developed in collaboration with Nvidia. The company also plans to add capacity along existing corridors where AI infrastructure is becoming concentrated.

Zayo's network currently spans 32 million fiber miles and 224,000 route miles across North America.

In September, former Verizon executive Sowmyanarayan Sampath is scheduled to become Zayo's CEO, replacing Smith, who is retiring.