Lumen leverages programmable fabric and extensive fiber to handle AI-driven demand

Lumen is repositioning its network around AI by combining its large U.S. fiber footprint with programmable networking capabilities from Alkira, which it acquired for $475 million in May. The company expects enterprise connectivity to shift from site-to-site links to connections involving clouds, data centers, and AI factories. By late 2025, Lumen's network-as-a-service customer base had more than doubled to over 3,000.