Published on: August 6, 2026
Verizon Communications has entered into a dark fiber agreement valued at more than $1 billion with Alphabet’s Google, strengthening its position as a key connectivity provider for the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence (AI) data center ecosystem.
The agreement will see Verizon provide dark fiber infrastructure to connect Google’s data centers, supporting the growing demand for high-capacity AI networking across the United States.
The partnership was announced by Verizon CEO Dan Schulman during the company’s second-quarter earnings call. According to Schulman, the deal represents a significant milestone in Verizon’s strategy to capitalize on the accelerating investment cycle surrounding AI infrastructure.
“The build out of AI infrastructure across the United States is one of the largest capital cycles of our lifetime, and Verizon is uniquely positioned to participate in it,” Schulman said.
Following the announcement, Verizon’s shares rose more than 3% in early trading, while Alphabet’s Class A stock also recorded gains of around 1%.
Verizon views the Google agreement as the beginning of a broader expansion into AI infrastructure connectivity. The company expects to announce additional agreements before the end of the year, which could generate several billion dollars in revenue over the coming years through long-term contracts with major infrastructure customers.
Schulman described the agreement as “consequential,” highlighting it as an indication of Verizon’s future growth direction.
He added that Verizon is leveraging its extensive long-haul and metro fiber network to address increasing demand from hyperscale technology companies investing heavily in AI infrastructure. Originally developed for earlier generations of connectivity, the network is now well-positioned to connect AI data centers, compute clusters and regional infrastructure efficiently.
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