Verizon lands $1 billion AI data center connectivity deal with Google

Verizon CEO Dan Schulman produced a $1 billion dark fiber data center connectivity deal with Google on the carrier's second quarter earnings call to show how the carrier plans to tap into AI infrastructure expansion across the US for new growth. Schulman said the agreement marked the start of new revenue streams that are expected to kick in next year and will build on the carrier's turnaround that accelerated in Q2. Verizon intends to use its long-haul and metro fiber assets to connect AI data centers, supplied as dark or lit fiber depending on customer requirements. It is also retrofitting thousands of central offices where it is decommissioning copper and turning them into edge data centers to address demand for AI inferencing applications that need low latency.