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The infrastructure required to power the next generation of artificial intelligence demands high-speed, low-latency, and massively scalable connectivity. To meet this need, QTS Data Centers and Lumen Technologies have announced a significant expansion of their strategic partnership. This collaboration will connect 16 new QTS data center campuses across the U.S. directly to Lumen's global fiber backbone, creating a powerful, AI-optimized digital backbone for hyperscalers and enterprises.
QTS is expanding its strategic partnership with Lumen Technologies.
Lumen will connect its AI-ready infrastructure to 16 new QTS data center campuses.
Lumen is named the premier partner for fiber, NaaS/SDN, and intelligent network fabric.
The partnership integrates QTS's data centers with Lumen's 340,000-route-mile global fiber network.
The goal is to provide a low-latency foundation for AI model training and real-time inferencing.
This provides hyperscalers with faster deployment and simplified connectivity.
The expanded partnership is designed to create a foundational infrastructure layer for the AI economy. Lumen will serve as the premier fiber provider, building diverse, high-capacity routes to interconnect all new QTS data centers. This provides ultra-low-latency access to Lumen's extensive network, which is critical for demanding AI workloads like model training and real-time inference.
Beyond physical fiber, the collaboration deeply integrates Lumen's intelligent software-defined services. Lumen will power QTS's Switchboard fabric as the premier Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) provider. Furthermore, the Lumen Connectivity Fabric will be extended into QTS's multi-tenant environments, delivering automated, high-speed connectivity to public clouds and other endpoints.
Leadership from both companies emphasized the strategic fit of the partnership. Brent Bensten, Chief Technology Officer at QTS, stated that Lumen is their "go-to premier partner," bringing "both the technical expertise and expansive fiber network to help us meet growing demand." Lumen's Chief Revenue Officer, Ashley Haynes-Gaspar, framed the collaboration as "the best example of our connected ecosystem strategy," combining QTS's scale with Lumen's "AI-ready infrastructure and intelligent network fabric."
For hyperscale customers and technology innovators, the partnership is designed to deliver tangible benefits. These include an AI-ready, low-latency infrastructure capable of supporting 400G+ connectivity, seamless end-to-end integration that simplifies deployment, and a faster time-to-value through joint commercial alignment that reduces complexity and accelerates service provisioning.
Lumen is unleashing the world's digital potential. We ignite business growth by connecting people, data, and applications – quickly, securely, and effortlessly. As the trusted network for AI, Lumen uses the scale of our network to help companies realize AI's full potential. From metro connectivity to long-haul data transport to our edge cloud, security, managed service, and digital platform capabilities, we meet our customers’ needs today and as they build for tomorrow.
QTS is a global data center leader with unrivaled access to scalable infrastructure across North America and Europe. Powered by people and driven by purpose, QTS provides state-of-the-art data center solutions, robust connectivity and premium customer service to leading hyperscale technology companies, enterprises and government entities. QTS is a Blackstone portfolio company.
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