Updated:
AT&T has agreed to combine its Forged Fiber 37 business with Gigapower, its existing wholesale fiber venture with BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, in a new U.S. joint venture that also includes Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Announced Tuesday, October 6, 2026, the deal brings together fiber assets and operations acquired from Lumen Technologies with Gigapower’s network-building platform, as AT&T seeks to extend broadband coverage beyond its traditional service areas.
AT&T will own 50% of the combined company, while GIP and CPP Investments will collectively own the other 50%. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals. AT&T did not disclose the investors’ individual ownership shares or the transaction’s financial value in its announcement.
The agreement gives AT&T a partner-backed structure for expanding fiber infrastructure while retaining an equal stake in the venture. The company said it expects proceeds at closing and plans to use them in line with its capital-allocation priorities, including reducing debt, investing in its business and returning capital to shareholders.
Two fiber operations to be brought together
The proposed venture will combine Forged Fiber 37, the subsidiary holding the fiber network assets and operations AT&T acquired from Lumen, and Gigapower, AT&T’s existing wholesale fiber joint venture with GIP. AT&T describes the new company as a wholesale, open-access fiber provider, a model that allows network infrastructure to support services offered by more than one provider.
AT&T completed its acquisition of substantially all of Lumen’s mass-market fiber business on February 2, 2026. The $5.75 billion cash transaction added more than one million fiber subscribers and more than four million fiber locations in 11 states, according to AT&T. The acquired footprint includes markets such as Denver, Seattle and Salt Lake City.
Gigapower was formed earlier by AT&T and GIP to build and operate fiber networks outside parts of AT&T’s traditional footprint. Bringing it together with Forged Fiber 37 would consolidate those operations under a single venture, although the companies’ announcement did not set out a detailed integration timetable, identify a headquarters or explain how the combined company’s name and customer-facing operations will be organized.
AT&T expects proceeds and continued equity earnings
AT&T said its expected proceeds from the transaction will support its capital-allocation priorities, including a target of bringing its net debt to adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ratio to around 2.5 times within approximately three years. The company also cited ongoing investment and shareholder returns as potential uses; it did not provide a dollar estimate for the proceeds or specify how much would go to each priority.
After the transaction closes, AT&T does not expect to consolidate the venture’s financial results. Instead, it plans to report its share of the joint venture’s equity income or loss in earnings, including adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations. Until closing, the company expects Forged Fiber 37 to remain classified as held for sale and discontinued operations, with its operating results and direct cash flows excluded from continuing operations.
That accounting treatment reflects the planned change in ownership and reporting rather than an immediate transfer of the network. The deal remains pending, and AT&T’s announcement did not describe any expected changes before closing to customers’ current services, billing arrangements or provider choices.
Expansion goals and footprint
AT&T said the joint venture is intended to accelerate fiber construction in additional U.S. communities and support its goal of reaching more than 60 million fiber locations by the end of 2030. The company said the venture’s build capabilities will help it expand in major metro areas across 16 states, naming Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Oregon and Washington among them.
The company said it expects to combine the venture’s construction capabilities with AT&T’s distribution network, creating opportunities to offer fiber broadband alongside its 5G wireless services. AT&T framed the arrangement as a capital-light way to extend fiber reach; the announcement did not provide annual construction targets, a breakdown of planned investment by state, or a schedule for particular markets.
AT&T has described fiber as a strategic part of its effort to sell fixed and wireless connectivity together. The joint venture announcement said customers who subscribe to both services can be part of that converged offering, but it did not announce new prices, service packages or customer eligibility changes tied to the proposed combination.
Investor partners and next steps
GIP is part of BlackRock, which acquired the infrastructure investment firm in 2024. GIP already partners with AT&T through Gigapower, making the agreement an expansion of an existing relationship as well as a new partnership with CPP Investments, the investment organization that manages assets for the Canada Pension Plan.
CPP Investments said the combination could support expansion of high-capacity broadband and provide the fund with exposure to a scaled digital-infrastructure business. AT&T said the structure aligns with its previously stated plan to bring in an equity partner for Forged Fiber 37. The companies have not publicly detailed how the investors will divide their collective 50% stake or what governance arrangements will apply.
The next stated milestone is closing, which AT&T expects in the first half of 2027, after customary conditions and regulatory approvals are met. The company has not announced a specific closing date. Until then, the proposed ownership structure, the precise amount AT&T will receive and the practical pace of future network construction remain subject to the transaction’s completion and details that have yet to be disclosed.
