Dedicated 400G connectivity to deliver faster AI adoption with 20-day deployment
DALLAS, Texas, October 14, 2025 – Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR), the largest global provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral data center, colocation, and interconnection solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) to deliver high-capacity, AI-ready connectivity services (AI WAN) across major U.S. metro markets.
Lumen’s newly launched Wavelength RapidRoutesSM – high-capacity data transport services designed for AI and data applications – is now available with Digital Realty’s global data center platform, PlatformDIGITAL®, enabling enterprise connectivity at a capacity of up to 400G. This collaboration empowers organizations to rapidly prototype and deploy traditional and AI applications with the bandwidth and proximity needed to reach hyperscaler clouds, neo-clouds, and other critical data center locations.
Enterprises and AI service providers increasingly need high capacity, dedicated connectivity to their data, cloud providers, and broader ecosystems to unlock business value. Meeting this demand requires networks that can be delivered quickly, move data securely with low latency, and scale both in size and reach, enabling the collection, training, and inference of data that drives real business outcomes.
“This truly unlocks high-scale networks on our flexible platform, letting customers build out their network connections with almost no performance limitations,” said Chris Sharp, Chief Technology Officer, Digital Realty. “Combined with our high-density data centers in critical metro areas, it’s a strong foundation for enterprise AI infrastructure.”
Digital Realty is expanding its Private AI Exchange (AIPx) ecosystem by connecting enterprise customers to over 700 locations with rapid deployment and high-capacity connectivity. This platform is foundational to offer customers more options to meet their current infrastructure needs and scale for tomorrow, in key areas such as, in and between data centers, to and from cloud destinations, and in AI applications where data exchange happens.
RapidRoutesSM provides fast quoting and accelerated turn-up across key intercity routes, giving customers a frictionless path to high-capacity connectivity. For more than 300 qualified sites and over 50,000 possible route combinations, Lumen supports that speed with an industry-leading installation timeframe of 20 business days and guaranteed service level agreements (SLAs). RapidRoutesSM is directly accessible in 25 Digital Realty data centers across 11 U.S. markets, with extended reach to an additional 38 locations, creating even more options to meet current and future infrastructure needs.
“The bar has been raised across the board for the amount of traffic Lumen Wavelength RapidRoutesSM can support, as well as the speed at which these services can be turned up in Digital Realty’s core data centers,” said Dave Ward, Chief Technology and Product Officer at Lumen Technologies. “We’re delivering a new class of network infrastructure built for the AI era. It’s a major leap in network planning and management for all enterprises.”
Key benefits of the collaboration include:
- Faster AI deployment: Dedicated 400G connectivity with a currently available, industry-leading 20-business day delivery SLA* to serve critical AI and private data applications.
- Scalable data movement: Versatile configuration options of routes between major U.S. markets.
- Future-proof infrastructure: Built to handle massive data growth and next-generation AI workloads.
“As our infrastructure and enterprise customer base continue to grow, dedicated high-performance connectivity between sites is essential to maintain the performance and distinction our purpose-built AI cloud demands. As a multi-site Digital Realty client, we require seamless inter-site connectivity to uphold that standard. The introduction of this AI WAN connectivity framework, powered by RapidRoutesSM, delivers a streamlined solution that meets the fabric needs of our AI infrastructure at scale,” said Dave Driggers, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Cirrascale Cloud Services.
Designed from inception to handle production AI models, the Cirrascale Inference Platform analyzes AI workloads for optimal placement on AI accelerated infrastructure, while also balancing customer performance, cost, and security. This enhanced connectivity will enable Cirrascale to deliver those advantages quickly and at scale, demonstrating how the Digital Realty and Lumen collaboration is meeting real-world enterprise needs today.
*Based on publicly available SLAs and service installation data for major U.S. wavelength providers, and market share data from the July 2024 Atlantic-ACM North American Business Connectivity Survey, SLAs may vary by provider, location, and contract terms. 20-business-day service installation starts from the date order and order addendum are fully executed and received by Lumen.
Additional Resources
- Learn more about the partnership with Lumen here.
- Learn more about PlatformDIGITAL® here.
- Learn more about ServiceFabric™ here.
About Digital Realty
Digital Realty brings companies and data together by delivering the full spectrum of data center, colocation, and interconnection solutions. PlatformDIGITAL®, the company’s global data center platform, provides customers with a secure data meeting place and a proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx®) solution methodology for powering innovation, from cloud and digital transformation to emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), and efficiently managing Data Gravity challenges. Digital Realty gives its customers access to the connected data communities that matter to them with a global data center footprint of 300+ facilities in 50+ metros across 25+ countries on six continents. To learn more about Digital Realty, please visit digitalrealty.com or follow us on LinkedIn and X.
About Lumen Technologies
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. 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.
For Additional Information
Media Contacts
Helen Bleasdale
Digital Realty
+1 737 267 6822
hcbleasdale@digitalrealty.com
Joe Goode
Lumen Technologies
+1 781 799 6048
Joseph.Goode@lumen.com
Investor Relations
Jordan Sadler / Jim Huseby
Digital Realty
+1 415 275 5344
InvestorRelations@digitalrealty.com
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially, including statements related to Digital Realty’s collaboration with Lumen Technologies, expected benefits, emerging technologies, AI, PlatformDIGITAL®, customer demand for the company’s products and services, and the company’s strategy. For a list and description of risks and uncertainties, see the reports and other filings by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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