On October 6, 2026, AT and T Inc (New York Stock Exchange ticker: T), their related party Global Infrastructure Partners ("GIP", a business under BlackRock), as well as the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board ("CPP Investments"), have agreed to form a new US fiber optic joint venture ("JV") in order to provide fiber optic services to more households across the country.
The joint venture will operate as a leading wholesale fiber optic commercial open-access company and will include Forged Fiber 37 – a newly established subsidiary that holds the fiber optic construction assets, network assets, and operations recently acquired by AT &T from Lumen; as well as Gigapower – the existing wholesale fiber optic joint venture between AT &T and GIP.
Investments from AT &T – the largest fiber optic provider in the United States – as well as GIP and CPP Investments, will enable the fiber optic construction plan to advance more rapidly in communities across the country. This joint venture will help to accelerate the provision of critical infrastructure to meet the growing demand for high-performance, advanced connections in the U.S., as artificial intelligence begins to reshape network traffic. This supports AT &T’s plan to cover over 60 million fiber access points by the end of 2030.
The mature fiber optic construction capabilities of Forged Fiber and Gigapower will help AT &T continue to efficiently expand its fiber optic services beyond traditional service areas. Cooperation with GIP and CPP Investments also demonstrates the market's confidence in AT &T's strategy and ongoing fiber optic construction efforts. At the same time, it provides AT &T with a low-capital path to further expand its fiber optic services in major metropolitan areas of 16 states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, and Washington.
Combining the fiber optic construction capabilities of this joint venture with the extensive distribution network of AT &T will enable AT &T to continue providing fiber optic internet and 5G wireless connectivity to more customers, as well as to expand its high-value integrated customer base.
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On February 2, 2026, AT &T completed transactions with Lumen Technologies and Inc. ( Lumen ) It also acquired the majority of Mass Markets's fiber optic business from Lumen. This acquisition includes customer relationships, and AT &T has integrated it into its advanced home internet services. The fiber optic network assets were placed under the wholly-owned subsidiaries Forged Fiber, Services, and LLC.
The total number of consumer and enterprise locations covered by fiber optics is the sum of the following two items: (1) AT locations owned and operated by T, which are customer locations covered by their fiber optic network; and (2) AT & T Fiber Ventures locations, which are served by the acquired Mass Markets fiber optic services, Gigapower, and other commercial open-access providers.
