AT&T Accelerates Fiber Expansion, Aims for 40 Million Locations by End of 2026

AT&T Accelerates Fiber Expansion, Aims for 40 Million Locations by End of 2026

January 29, 2026

AT&T Inc. has announced a significant acceleration of its fiber-to-the-premises network buildout, targeting to reach 40 million customer locations across the United States by the end of 2026. This aggressive expansion underscores the intensifying competition among major carriers to dominate the high-speed broadband market, a critical infrastructure layer for cloud services, remote work, and next-generation technologies like AI.

During the company's fourth-quarter earnings call on January 28, CEO John Stankey outlined the plan to ramp up construction rates. The carrier intends to increase its annual pace of fiber construction from 3 million new locations in 2025 to a run rate of 4 million by the end of this year, eventually scaling to 5 million annually thereafter. This push is central to AT&T's long-term goal of passing 60 million locations with fiber by 2030.

The expansion is bolstered by two pending strategic acquisitions. The nearing close of its $5.75 billion deal to acquire Lumen Technologies' fiber business will add a network reaching over 4 million locations across 11 states. Furthermore, the company expects an equity partner to co-invest in these newly acquired assets, mirroring the structure of its existing Gigapower joint venture. Chief Financial Officer Pascal Desroches highlighted the upside potential, noting the Lumen assets have a customer penetration rate of only 25 percent, well below AT&T's own 40 percent fiber penetration, and present a significant convergence opportunity with wireless services.

As of the end of 2025, AT&T's fiber network already reached 32 million locations, having added 1 million net fiber subscribers for the eighth consecutive year. The company also provided updates on other strategic initiatives, including the deployment of spectrum from its pending $23 billion acquisition from EchoStar and progress on retiring its legacy copper network, with FCC approval received to discontinue copper-based services in over 30 percent of its wire centers by 2026.

Financially, AT&T ended 2025 strongly, reporting full-year revenue of $125.6 billion, a 2.7 percent increase year-over-year, with fourth-quarter revenue hitting $33.5 billion. The company's intensified fiber investment, coupled with its 5G modernization, positions it to compete more effectively against rivals Verizon and T-Mobile in the race to capture market share in an increasingly connectivity-dependent economy.

Source: datacenterdynamics