AI is changing how data moves. Lumen is scaling the network it runs on.

The race to scale AI is reshaping how data moves. Growing AI workloads are sending more data across clouds, data centers and AI environments, increasing the need for networks that can connect data to compute and deliver insights wherever business happens.

AI is increasing both compute requirements and the amount of data moving between data centers, clouds, users and AI platforms. The network has become a defining part of the AI equation and Lumen is investing accordingly.

AI is creating a new data movement challenge

Organizations are generating more data than ever. To put that data to work, they need to know where it lives, connect it to the right cloud and AI environments and move it fast enough to keep up with AI.

As organizations scale AI, they are discovering that success depends on the infrastructure connecting clouds, data centers, AI environments, applications and users. Keeping those environments connected and data accessible puts greater demands on the network supporting them.

Most networks were not designed for the volume, velocity and distribution of this new reality. In fact, 96% of enterprise IT leaders report experiencing network-related performance issues affecting AI workloads.¹ AI is creating a data movement challenge. As data becomes more distributed, the infrastructure connecting it matters more than ever.

The AI shift: Why data movement matters more than ever

For decades, enterprise networks were primarily designed to provide access. Users connected to applications while branches connected to headquarters and data moved through relatively predictable paths.

AI changes that equation.

Today, data moves to the cloud, between clouds and across data centers and regions. It also moves between applications, users and edge environments. At the same time, AI training, inference and analytics are increasing both the amount of data organizations need to move and the speed at which it must travel.

When data movement slows, AI slows.

With 92% of organizations now leveraging multicloud environments for AI,² data now needs to move quickly and reliably across more clouds, data centers and AI environments.

Scaling the network AI runs on

The answer isn't simply adding more connectivity. Organizations need infrastructure capable of supporting AI data from creation and training to inference and business execution.

To support AI at scale, they must solve three critical challenges:

• Getting capacity where it's needed
• Connecting data and compute
• Delivering outcomes closer to users

First, accelerate time to capacity

AI initiatives can stall when infrastructure cannot be deployed quickly enough to support growing demand.

Lumen® Wavelength RapidRoutes℠ addresses the time-to-capacity challenge by expanding AI-ready connectivity across paths between more than 350 qualified sites and adding approximately 2 Pb of capacity for AI, cloud and data-intensive workloads. Through pre-engineered 100G and 400G wavelength connectivity, qualifying deployments are available in as little as 20 days, helping organizations bring capacity online fast, accelerate time to value and creating the high-capacity foundation organizations need to move AI workloads at scale.

Lumen Network-as-a-Service® (NaaS) adds on-demand flexibility to that foundation. Organizations can scale bandwidth up to 100 Gbps in minutes to meet traffic spikes, then scale down as demand changes, helping reduce costly overprovisioning. RapidRoutes and Lumen NaaS help organizations bring capacity online faster while maintaining the flexibility to adapt as AI demands evolve. Once that capacity is in place, it needs to connect data to the cloud, data center and AI environments where it can be processed.

Next, connect data to compute

Once capacity is available, data must reach the cloud, data center and AI environments where it can be processed.

As organizations adopt multicloud and distributed AI architectures, connecting data to where it is processed becomes increasingly complex. Data Center Enablement expands high-capacity connectivity to cloud, data center and AI environments, helping data reach the compute resources that need it.

With up to 400G Ethernet and IP services across more than 70 cloud on-ramp-ready data center locations, and plans to expand beyond 160 locations, Lumen is helping customers connect data and compute more efficiently.

Lumen NaaS turns that high-capacity foundation into programmable connectivity. Through options including Lumen® Ethernet Fabric Connect and Lumen® Intelligent Internet, organizations can activate, manage and scale private and internet connectivity on demand as data, compute and workload requirements change. This gives organizations greater visibility, performance optimization and control as AI workloads move across distributed environments. Once data is processed, the network must carry those insights closer to the applications, users and locations where they create value.

Then, deliver AI outcomes where business happens

Processing data is only part of the journey. AI creates value when insights reach the people, applications and locations that depend on them.

Metro Enablement is the Lumen expansion of high-capacity Ethernet and IP connectivity across key U.S. metro markets, bringing greater network capacity closer to branches, campuses, applications and edge environments. Lumen currently offers 100G Ethernet and IP services in 16 key U.S. metro markets, with plans to expand to more than 30.

Lumen NaaS® adds flexibility to that expanded network reach, allowing organizations to adapt connectivity as AI workloads and business needs change.

A connected path from capacity to compute to action

Scaling AI requires data to move reliably across clouds, data centers, AI environments and the places where insights are put to work. That means having the capacity to move growing volumes of data, access to the environments where it is processed, and connectivity that extends back to applications, employees, customers and locations.

Continued investments by Lumen support that end-to-end journey:

• RapidRoutes is built to bring high-capacity connectivity online faster across strategic long-haul routes.
• Data Center Enablement connects distributed data with the cloud, data center and AI environments where it is processed.
• Metro Enablement extends high-capacity performance close to applications, users and edge locations.

These investments are designed to help organizations:

• Bring AI-ready capacity online faster.
• Scale bandwidth as demand changes without costly overprovisioning.
• Connect distributed data and compute more efficiently.
• Improve performance closer to users and applications.
• Activate, manage and scale connectivity as demands change through a single control layer.
• Monitor performance, usage and costs through a single dashboard.

Continued network investments from Lumen provide the physical foundation AI demands. Lumen NaaS provides the digital control to access, manage and scale that infrastructure as needs change. These combined physical and digital capabilities create a more connected path from capacity to compute to action.

Backed by the world’s #1 peered global network⁴ and a 99.99% data delivery rate, Lumen helps keep AI data moving reliably across distributed environments.

This combination of physical scale and programmable, on-demand connectivity can help organizations move fast from AI investment to business value. That infrastructure already supports many of the world’s largest AI builders and enterprises, demonstrating the scale of the network behind today’s AI ecosystem.

How AI is shaping the future of data movement

AI is changing how data moves.

The organizations that succeed won't simply be the ones with the most compute. They'll also be capable of moving data seamlessly across clouds, data centers, applications⁵ and users.

That's why infrastructure matters.

Through RapidRoutes, Data Center Enablement and Metro Enablement, Lumen is investing in the capacity, connectivity and reach needed to support how AI moves today and where it goes next. Lumen NaaS makes that infrastructure easier to access, manage and scale as demands change.

The Lumen Network provides the physical foundation, while Lumen NaaS adds greater control over how connectivity is activated, scaled and managed. The result is a clearer path for data from capacity to compute to action.

The next era of AI will be defined by how quickly organizations can connect data to the right environments and put insights to work wherever business happens.

¹Flexential, State of AI infrastructure report, 2026.

²Quadrant Strategies, Why IT leaders are turning to next-gen networks, 2025.

³Gartner, Gartner forecasts Worldwide IT spending to grow 14.2% in 2026, totaling $6.37 trillion, July 27, 2026.

⁴Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis (CAIDA), AS rank, April 2025.

⁵Lumen internal customer data, September 2026.

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