Published: October 7, 2026
Author: Saf Malik, Senior Content and Insights Manager
Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
Executive Overview
In a monumental development reshaping the United States digital infrastructure landscape, telecommunications giant AT&T has officially agreed to form a massive US wholesale fibre joint venture (JV). The venture unites two distinct powerhouses: the fibre assets AT&T recently acquired from Lumen Technologies and Gigapower, AT&T’s existing wholesale fibre joint venture with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).
To fuel and scale this unprecedented undertaking, AT&T has partnered with GIP—a premier infrastructure fund management firm now operating as part of BlackRock—alongside the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments). Under the terms of the agreement, AT&T will retain a 50% equity stake in the newly formed venture, while GIP and CPP Investments will collectively hold the remaining 50%.
While specific financial terms of the transaction remain under wraps, the deal is widely anticipated to close in the first half of 2027, pending customary closing conditions and standard regulatory approvals. Upon completion, the alliance promises to deliver a capital-light expansion path for high-speed connectivity across the United States, positioning all participating entities at the forefront of the burgeoning artificial intelligence and high-bandwidth data era.
Detailed Chronology and Transaction Architecture
The foundations of this multi-billion-dollar joint venture have been laid over several years through aggressive acquisitions, strategic restructuring, and targeted network investments.
The Lumen Asset Integration
The journey toward this massive enterprise accelerated significantly on February 2, 2026, when AT&T successfully closed its acquisition of substantially all of Lumen Technologies’ Mass Markets fibre business. This acquisition brought substantial physical infrastructure, construction pipelines, and subscriber bases under AT&T’s corporate umbrella.
To manage these newly acquired properties, AT&T housed the build engine, network assets, and operational frameworks within a dedicated subsidiary known as Forged Fiber 37. Following the divestment, Lumen pivoted its overarching corporate strategy toward AI-driven enterprise networking, leaving the mass-market consumer and wholesale fibre execution entirely in the hands of major telecom operators.
Merging with Gigapower
Rather than managing Forged Fiber 37 entirely on its own balance sheet, AT&T executed a long-term plan to bring in premier equity partners. The new joint venture effectively amalgamates Forged Fiber 37 with Gigapower, AT&T’s pre-existing wholesale fibre joint venture with GIP.
By fusing these two entities, the JV will operate strictly as a commercial open-access wholesale provider. This model allows multiple service providers to utilize the shared physical infrastructure, maximizing asset utilization and driving rapid return on investment.
Regulatory and Financial Mechanics
AT&T has structured the deal to ensure immediate and long-term financial flexibility. Upon closing in the first half of 2027, AT&T expects to receive substantial cash proceeds. The company plans to deploy these funds strategically:
- Accelerating its trajectory to achieve a net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA target in the 2.5x range within approximately three years.
- Fueling ongoing core infrastructure investments.
- Returning capital to shareholders.
Crucially, once the transaction closes, AT&T will no longer consolidate the joint venture’s financial results directly into its primary balance sheet. Instead, the telecom giant will report its proportionate share of equity income, significantly insulating its debt profile while maintaining exposure to the venture’s long-term upside.
Supporting Context, Ecosystem Metrics, and Broader Strategy
This newly minted joint venture does not exist in a vacuum; it is the cornerstone of AT&T’s aggressive, multi-pronged infrastructure crusade aimed at dominating the next decade of American connectivity.
The Push to 60 Million Locations
The primary objective of the GIP and CPP Investments joint venture is to provide AT&T with a "capital-light path" to expand its fibre footprint far beyond its traditional, legacy service areas. The combined entity is targeting major metropolitan markets across 16 high-growth US states—including crucial regions in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, and Washington.
This footprint expansion is critical to helping AT&T hit its corporate target of reaching more than 60 million fibre locations by the end of 2030. To ensure this massive buildout does not suffer from supply chain bottlenecks, AT&T secured its hardware pipeline just weeks prior to this announcement by signing a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar supply agreement worth more than $3 billion with Corning for advanced fibre and cable.
Convergence of Fibre and 5G
The infrastructure play is deeply intertwined with AT&T’s broader mobility strategy. The company is actively executing a converged blueprint designed to sell high-speed home fibre and advanced 5G wireless services side-by-side to households and enterprises.
This convergence strategy received a massive injection of horsepower in July 2026, when AT&T officially completed its landmark $23 billion EchoStar spectrum acquisition. Armed with fresh mid-band spectrum for its 5G network and an expanding open-access wholesale fibre backbone, AT&T is uniquely positioned to offer bundled, cross-platform packages that few competitors can match.
Official Industry Statements
The sheer scale of the partnership has drawn commentary from the top echelons of global finance and telecommunications.
John Stankey, Chairman and CEO of AT&T, emphasized the critical role of fibre in the modern technological landscape:
"Fibre is the definitive connectivity technology for an AI-driven world. As businesses and consumers demand unprecedented levels of symmetrical, low-latency capacity, this joint venture allows us to scale our reach efficiently, meeting market demands without compromising our balance sheet strength."
James Bryce, Head of Infrastructure at CPP Investments, underscored the long-term value creation for institutional pension holders:
"This partnership aligns perfectly with our mandate to invest in high-quality, essential infrastructure assets. By combining forces with AT&T and GIP, this joint venture is ideally positioned to expand critical digital connectivity across the United States while generating secure, long-term risk-adjusted returns for the CPP Fund."
Future Outlook: The Road to 2027 and Beyond
As the telecommunications industry converges in major forums—such as the upcoming Metro Connect USA 2027 executive gathering—discussions are expected to heavily center around open-access wholesale models and infrastructure-sharing agreements.
The successful formation of this joint venture signals a structural shift in how Tier-1 US carriers fund and build next-generation networks. By offloading capital-intensive construction risks into dedicated joint ventures backed by institutional giants like BlackRock’s GIP and CPP Investments, telecom operators can scale at a velocity previously thought impossible.
For consumers and enterprises alike, the promise of the 2027 close date means that rapid, competitive, open-access fibre deployment is well underway. As the ink dries on regulatory filings over the coming months, the tripartite alliance of AT&T, GIP, and CPP Investments stands ready to redraw the map of American digital infrastructure for decades to come.
