Lumen Technologies CFO Chris Stansbury revealed details of the company's new fiber network partnership with AI startup Anthropic, emphasizing how this collaboration positions Lumen as the trusted network for AI. The partnership comes amid Pentagon tensions with Anthropic over AI safety concerns, though Stansbury downplayed any impact on Lumen's business.

Stansbury explained that Lumen's transformation from a traditional telecom provider to a network-as-a-service company represents a fundamental shift in how data moves across the internet. The company has sold its consumer business and now focuses exclusively on enterprise customers, generating $13 billion in sales to hyperscalers and neoclouds like Anthropic. This diversification strategy proves Lumen's unique position in the AI infrastructure space.

Lumen expects to achieve positive EBITDA this year while transitioning to a consumption-based model that allows customers to access network capacity on-demand. The company has grown its network-as-a-service customer base from 1,000 to 2,000 since August, with quarter-over-quarter growth in the high 20s to 30s percent. Stansbury emphasized that Lumen's combination of extensive fiber infrastructure and network-as-a-service capabilities makes it irreplaceable for AI companies, regardless of which large language model provider ultimately dominates the market.