Verizon and Google strike $1 billion-plus 'dark fiber' data center network connectivity deal
According to news on July 25, Dan Schulman, CEO of U.S. telecom operator Verizon, announced at the company’s 2026Q2 financial report conference call held on the 24th local time that the company had reached a network infrastructure deal of more than US$1 billion (approximately 6.782 billion yuan at the current exchange rate) with Google. Under the agreement, Verizon will provide data center connectivity services to Google using "dark fiber" resources that have been pre-laid but not yet activated.
According to news on July 25, U.S. telecom operator Verizon CEO Dan Schulman announced at the company’s 2026Q2 financial report conference call held on the 24th local time that the company had reached a network infrastructure deal with Google (Google) worth more than US$1 billion (approximately 6.782 billion yuan at current exchange rates). Under the agreement, Verizon will provide data center connectivity services to Google using "dark fiber" resources that have been pre-laid but not yet activated. Dan Schulman said that the global construction of artificial intelligence infrastructure is one of the largest capital cycles he has witnessed in his generation. And Verizon is well-positioned in the cycle with one of the most extensive long-distance and metro fiber-optic networks in North America. Verizon plans to announce several more similar AI infrastructure deals this year. Such contracts are expected to generate billions of dollars in combined revenue over the next few years. At the same time, Verizon is also transforming its central computer room into an AI edge inference computing data center. The process is currently in its preliminary stages and has attracted several partners interested in such mature infrastructure assets. Verizon achieved total operating income of US$34.3 billion in 2026Q2, -0.7% year-on-year; consolidated net profit was US$3.9 billion, -22.9% year-on-year; mobile and broadband service revenue was US$23.4 billion, +2.8% year-on-year; equipment revenue fell by nearly 20% year-on-year.