QTS Data Centers and Lumen Technologies are expanding their strategic partnership to support a next-generation network built for AI, cloud and hyperscaler growth.
Under the partnership, Lumen is connecting its AI-ready infrastructure to 16 new QTS data center campuses across the United States, including in Arizona, Georgia, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, and Oregon. The collaboration also brings QTS’s AI-optimized data center footprint on-net to Lumen’s 340,000-route-mile global fiber backbone to form a foundation for hyperscalers and enterprises building the next wave of AI applications. In addition, QTS is buying Lumen Wavelength services, officials said.
“QTS is excited to continue our strategic partnership with Lumen for switchboard network-as-a-service/software-defined networking (NaaS/SDN) technology, on-net solutions and cloud on-ramps to support data center connectivity and operations,” said Brent Bensten, CTO at QTS. “In an industry where innovation and scalability are essential, Lumen brings the technical expertise and expansive fiber network to help us meet growing demand. Lumen’s ability to scale alongside QTS ensures that we anticipate our customers’ needs and lead the way in shaping the future of digital infrastructure.”
As QTS’s select fiber provider, Lumen will build diverse, high-capacity fiber routes interconnecting all new QTS data centers. Lumen’s NaaS/SDN services will also enable near real-time speed, control and scalability without the complexity of legacy infrastructure and seamless cloud connectivity and data center-to-data center interconnect with Ethernet and IP capacity, officials said.
In addition, QTS will extend the Lumen Connectivity Fabric into its multi-tenant environments to deliver high-speed, near real-time automated connectivity to public clouds, data centers, premises, edge locations and AI on-ramps. Lumen will also deploy a wavelength backbone interconnecting all QTS locations for site management and fail over redundancy, officials said.
“This partnership is the best example of our connected ecosystem strategy,” said Ashley Haynes-Gaspar, chief revenue officer at Lumen. “By combining QTS’s scale and data center innovation with Lumen’s AI-ready infrastructure and intelligent network fabric, we’re building the trusted digital backbone for the AI economy. Together, we give hyperscalers what they need most: fast training, smart scaling, and secure connectivity.”
For hyperscalers and technology innovators, the partnership is intended to deliver a purpose-built foundation for AI and cloud performance. Expected benefits include an AI-ready low-latency infrastructure, end-to-end integration and joint commercial alignment to reduce complexity and accelerate provisioning, officials said.
