In a deal driven by the growth of generative artificial intelligence (AI), Verizon Business says that it will connect Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers with high-capacity, low-latency long-haul and high-capacity infrastructure.
“AI will be essential to the future of business and society, driving innovation that demands a network to match,” Scott Lawrence, the senior vice president and chief product officer for Verizon Business, said in a press release about the AWS news. “This deal with Amazon demonstrates our continued commitment to meet the growing demands of AI workloads for the businesses and developers building our future.”
Verizon and AWS work together closely. Verizon tapped AWS as a preferred strategic cloud provider and private mobile edge computing.
The emergence of AI is in the process of resetting the data center business. A year ago, AWS and Lumen Technologies signed a deal under which Lumen will use AWS’s AI, machine learning (ML), and security technologies. Lumen’s communications, network services, security and voice products were expected to benefit.
It seems that multiple layers of the telecommunications industry are playing catch up with the explosive growth of AI and its voracious appetite for data. Last month, before the AWS deal, Verizon Business released its 2025 Security Index. It found that 93% of organizations surveyed have employees who use generative AI on their mobile devices — and 64% cite compromises stemming from inputting sensitive information into these devices as their top mobile risk.
Despite the fact that the threat is generally recognized, only 45% of surveyed organizations reported that they provide comprehensive training on the risks of mobile AI tools.
Telecommunications companies such as Verizon and AWS feel they are stronger working together than they are separate. That’s one of the reasons that Verizon recently entered into a commercial agreement with Eaton Fiber that includes both mobile and Internet elements.
