Lumen Technologies has established an agreement with Corning Inc. for a substantial supply of next-generation optical cable, representing 10% of Corning’s global fiber capacity for each of the next two years. The fiber-dense cable is expected to more than double Lumen’s intercity fiber miles in the U.S., offering capacity for AI-related cloud data centers and high bandwidth applications. The agreement represents Lumen's largest cable purchase and will equip the networking solutions provider to meet the network infrastructure needs of major data center operators, including Microsoft, which announced last week that it's investing with Lumen to support the rising demand on its data centers. “The rise of AI is driving technology companies to quickly secure fiber and bandwidth before their competition,” said Kate Johnson, president and CEO of Lumen Technologies. The agreement with Corning, she said, grants Lumen status as a preferred partner. “This marks the first outside-plant deployment of Corning's new gen-AI fiber and cable system, which will enable Lumen to fit anywhere from two-to-four times the amount of fiber into their existing conduit,” said Wendell Weeks, chairman and CEO of Corning.