AT&T, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and CPP Investments have agreed to form a new U.S. fiber joint venture combining Forged Fiber 37, which holds the network assets and construction operations AT&T acquired from Lumen Technologies, with Gigapower, AT&T’s existing open-access fiber venture with GIP. The transaction creates a substantially larger wholesale fiber platform designed to accelerate AT&T’s expansion outside its traditional wireline territories. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

AT&T will own 50% of the new venture, while GIP and CPP Investments will collectively own the remaining 50%. At closing, the JV is expected to encompass nearly 5 million fiber locations and serve more than 1 million AT&T fiber subscribers across major metropolitan markets in 16 states. Forged Fiber 37 brings the network assets and fiber construction capabilities associated with AT&T’s $5.75 billion acquisition of substantially all of Lumen’s Mass Markets fiber business, which closed in February. Gigapower, launched by AT&T and BlackRock in 2023, adds an existing wholesale open-access platform specifically designed to extend fiber deployment beyond AT&T’s traditional service territory.

The structure is an important component of AT&T’s plan to reach more than 60 million fiber locations by the end of 2030. AT&T expects approximately 50 million of those locations to be reached by its owned-and-operated network, with the new JV becoming its primary partner for expansion outside traditional AT&T territories. The model separates much of the physical infrastructure investment from AT&T’s retail customer strategy: the JV owns and expands wholesale fiber infrastructure, while AT&T uses that network to sell AT&T Fiber alongside its national 5G wireless service.

“Fiber is the definitive connectivity technology for an AI-driven world,” said John Stankey, Chairman and CEO of AT&T. “Demand for symmetrical, high-capacity, low-latency connectivity is only increasing, and this JV will bring the unmatched benefits of high-speed, reliable fiber connectivity to more Americans.”

Analysis

The new venture completes a strategic sequence AT&T outlined when it first agreed to acquire Lumen’s Mass Markets fiber operation in May 2025. AT&T paid $5.75 billion for the business, retained the customer relationships and placed the acquired physical fiber network and construction capabilities into a separate subsidiary. Forged Fiber 37 is that infrastructure vehicle. Bringing GIP and CPP Investments into the structure now provides the outside infrastructure capital AT&T had said it intended to secure.

The combination with Gigapower also turns what began as a relatively targeted open-access initiative into a considerably larger infrastructure platform. Gigapower was established with BlackRock Alternatives in 2022 and launched commercially in 2023 to build fiber outside AT&T’s traditional wireline footprint. Combining that platform with the former Lumen network gives the JV both an existing installed footprint and a construction organization capable of further expansion.

The financial architecture is equally significant. AT&T describes the JV as a capital-light mechanism for extending its retail fiber reach without owning 100% of the underlying infrastructure. AT&T expects to receive proceeds when the transaction closes and plans to use them in accordance with its broader capital allocation strategy, including investment, shareholder returns and progress toward a net-debt-to-adjusted-EBITDA ratio in the 2.5x range.

The distinction between AT&T’s 60-million-location target and the JV’s footprint is important. AT&T expects roughly 50 million locations to be served by its owned-and-operated fiber network. The balance of its overall reach can come through the new venture and other commercial open-access arrangements. The JV therefore becomes a mechanism for expanding the addressable market for AT&T Fiber without requiring AT&T to fund and consolidate every incremental access-network build.

That model also strengthens AT&T’s fiber-and-wireless convergence strategy. The company can use wholesale fiber infrastructure financed alongside long-duration infrastructure investors while retaining the retail relationship and pairing broadband service with its national 5G offering. The result is an increasingly distinct separation between network ownership, network construction and the retail connectivity relationship.