Lumen Reserves 10% of Corning Fiber Optic Cable Production to Support AI in the Data Center

Two-year deal for next-generation fiber optic cables will help meet growing demand for fiber for generative AI and data centers. Telecommunications company Lumen Technologies will now be able to more than double the route miles of its existing long-distance fiber network and provide customers, including cloud data centers, enterprises and government agencies, with the bandwidth and connectivity needed to more easily and effectively unlock the capabilities of generative AI applications. Lumen says it will be able […]

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Two-year deal for next-generation fiber optic cables will help meet growing demand for fiber for generative AI and data centers.

Telecommunications company Lumen Technologies will now be able to more than double the route miles of its existing long-distance fiber network and provide customers, including cloud data centers, enterprises and government agencies, with the bandwidth and connectivity needed to more easily and effectively unlock the capabilities of generative AI applications. Lumen says it will be able to achieve this by reserving 10% of global production of Corning’s next-generation Gen AI fiber optic cabling. This is Lumen’s largest cable purchase to date.

A Major Deal

For Corning, this is a significant financial deal, as well as the first off-site deployment of its new Gen AI fiber and cable system, designed to advance the deployment of generative artificial intelligence solutions.

According to Wendell P. Weeks, president and CEO of Corning Incorporated, said the new cable “will allow Lumen to install two to four times the amount of fiber in existing conduit.”

Lumen currently has multiple fiber routes to more than 50 cities in the United States and is focusing its efforts on providing AI to its customers and partners.

Generative artificial intelligence, a growth model for fiber cabling

Weeks also said during Corning’s first-quarter earnings conference call in early May that even though fiber shipments are 30% below trend, he expects business to pick up. The Lumen deal is a prime example of that increased business, and Weeks referenced his comments at the conference about the AI ​​market:

“Generative AI is a particularly exciting opportunity for us. It creates significant demand for passive optical connectivity solutions and strengthens our value proposition and competitive advantages. All data centers consist of a front-end network connecting the CPU racks. To meet the computational demands of AI, customers are building a new second fiber-rich network to connect GPUs, increasing our market opportunity.”

The importance of fiber networks for AI deployments is clear, and the new deal will provide Lumen with what it needs to upgrade and increase the AI ​​capabilities of its network.

One of Lumen’s distinguishing features as an operator is the way it continuously upgrades its network infrastructure. They do this using a multi-duct system that enables rapid deployment of the latest fiber technology.

Corning CEO Weeks added:

“As generative AI increases bandwidth requirements between data centers, we are pleased to reach an agreement with Lumen Technologies to provide our latest fiber optic and cable innovations to facilitate the construction of a new network to interconnect AI-enabled data centers.”

Lumen also partners with Microsoft

A week before announcing the purchase agreement with Corning, Lumen announced a new partnership with Microsoft. In this partnership, Lumen will use Microsoft Cloud to drive its digital transformation efforts, while Microsoft will use Lumen’s interconnected fiber network to expand its network capacity and help meet the growing demand for bandwidth and network connectivity in its data centers, driven by the simultaneous demand for AI.

This network has exclusive access to existing fiber, new fiber installation for existing and new routes, and access to Lumen digital services.

It is also an AI-ready infrastructure and, in Microsoft’s use case, will strengthen connectivity between Microsoft data centers. Building for the future is a key component of Lumen’s vision. As Kate Johnson, President and CEO of Lumen Technologies, said:

“We are preparing for a future where AI will be the driving force behind innovation and growth, and where a powerful network infrastructure will be essential for businesses to thrive.”

Source: https://www.datacenterfrontier.com/design/article/55130320/lumen-reserves-10-of-corning-fiber-optic-cable-production-to-support-ai-in-the-data-center

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