Lumen Expands its U.S. Network with NorthLine, a New Northern Fiber Route Built for AI Data Movement

DENVER–(BUSINESS WIRE)– The infrastructure behind AI is reshaping how and where data moves, and network routes must evolve with it. Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) today announced the expansion of its network with NorthLine, a new low latency fiber route that will directly connect Seattle to Minneapolis and expand connectivity across a key northern U.S. corridor between the Pacific Northwest and central U.S. markets.

Lumen’s new Seattle to Minneapolis route will deliver 100G and 400G wavelength services

“Enterprises are building for what comes next —more AI workloads, more distributed infrastructure, and more demand for low latency capacity in the right places,” said Lumen Chief Commercial Operations Officer Kye Prigg. “We’re not just building routes; we’re building a connected national fabric. NorthLine will deliver a new northern route paired with the predictable, high-capacity services customers need to make more confident infrastructure decisions.”

NorthLine will integrate with Lumen’s national network, enabling customers to extend connectivity beyond the route and build seamless cross-country paths on newly built fiber infrastructure. The route will support 100G and 400G wavelength services and be delivered through Lumen RapidRoutes—pre-engineered routes with validated capacity and a 20-day service level agreement for qualified deployments. This will enable customers to move faster from design to deployment and scale connectivity more predictably across key U.S. markets.

“NorthLine is being built for long-term scale,” said Prigg. “We’ll deploy the very latest optical technologies that maximize fiber efficiency today while creating a clear path to future 800G and 1.6 terabit wavelengths as demand continues to grow.”

Expected to be available by the end of 2026, NorthLine is designed to give enterprises, cloud providers, and AI innovators a more direct route option between key markets, simplifying architectures and reducing reliance on fragmented, multi-provider infrastructure. The route is being built along emerging northern U.S. data center corridors, where new power capacity is fueling AI infrastructure growth.

As data growth accelerates, network designs are shifting. Traffic is increasingly moving east-west, data is clustering in emerging markets, and infrastructure demand is expanding beyond traditional hubs. These shifts are driving the need for routes that align to where compute, power, and connectivity are scaling.

Why the Route Matters Now

• Adds geographic diversity across the northern U.S.: Creates an additional path for moving data between regions, to improve latency, resiliency, and traffic distribution.
• Aligns to emerging data center and power corridors: Built near key markets where new power capacity is fueling AI and cloud infrastructure growth.
• Extends into Lumen’s national network: Will enable seamless, cross-country connectivity without relying on multiple providers, while supporting transpacific traffic flows from West Coast entry points into central U.S. markets.
• Enables simpler, more resilient network architectures: Supports more direct routing and reduces operational complexity across distributed environments.

NorthLine demonstrates Lumen’s ongoing commitment to enhancing fiber infrastructure across strategic growth corridors. As demand for AI-scale connectivity increases, Lumen is building routes that align to how data is moving today—across clouds, between data centers, and into emerging compute regions.

Organizations interested in NorthLine can visit https://pages.lumentech.com/northline-route.html for build updates and notifications when availability and quoting timelines are announced.

About Lumen

Lumen is unleashing the world’s digital potential. We ignite business growth by connecting people, data, and applications – quickly, securely, and effortlessly. As the trusted network for AI, Lumen uses the scale of our network to help companies realize AI’s full potential. From metro connectivity to long-haul data transport to our edge cloud, security, managed service, and digital platform capabilities, we meet our customers’ needs today and as they build for tomorrow.

For news and insights visit news.lumen.com, LinkedIn: /lumentechnologies, X: lumentechco, Facebook: /lumentechnologies, Instagram: @lumentechnologies and YouTube: /lumentechnologies. Lumen and Lumen Technologies are registered trademarks of Lumen Technologies LLC in the United States. Lumen Technologies LLC is a wholly owned affiliate of Lumen Technologies, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including statements regarding management’s expectations with respect to our business, strategy and operations as well as statements identified by words such as “estimates,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “plans,” “intends,” “will,” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are not promises nor guarantees of future results, are based on our current expectations only and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those described in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, as updated in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated by us in these statements due to several factors, including those referenced in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source: Lumen

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