Zayo deepens fiber ties with Corning amid AI infrastructure demand surge

Zayo Group has committed to a long-term fiber supply agreement with Corning, the world’s largest optical fiber manufacturer, as both companies race to keep pace with the infrastructure demands of the AI era. The deal positions Zayo to secure a steady flow of optical fiber and cable for its expanding network of AI-focused corridors, at a time when supply constraints are becoming a real bottleneck for the industry. The AI buildout needs a lot of glass Zayo is currently constructing more than 8,000 route miles of new long-haul fiber across critical AI corridors. Nvidia serves as an anchor customer for the buildout, with the fiber infrastructure designed to alleviate network capacity constraints at AI manufacturing and computing sites. The arrangement with Corning ensures that Zayo has access to the raw materials it needs to keep construction on schedule. Zayo has already been integrating Corning-manufactured fibers, including the SMF-28 product line, into select AI-centric route builds for enhanced performance. Corning is boosting its US optical connectivity manufacturing capacity by 10x and increasing fiber production by more than 50% to meet the surge in AI-related demand. A pattern...