Lumen Technologies plans to mine its old copper network as it pivots to AI

Most companies retire old infrastructure and write it off. Lumen Technologies plans to dig it up and sell it.

The company formerly known for landline phone service is pulling copper out of its legacy network as it repositions itself as an AI enterprise connectivity provider.

“Copper is worth more to us mined than operated,” said President and CFO Chris Stansbury.

The copper math

Lumen (NYSE: LUMN) laid out the plan alongside its third-quarter 2026 results, reported on November 4, 2026. The company intends to speed up the retirement of aging copper networks in four states: Florida, Iowa, Nevada, and Utah.

Those four markets represent approximately 25% of Lumen’s total copper footprint.

Lumen expects pretax proceeds from the copper recovery of $1 billion to $1.5 billion over the next five years. That range depends on market conditions.

There is a second financial benefit hiding in the plan. Lumen spends $200 million to $300 million a year on capital expenditures just to keep its legacy copper running.

CEO Kate Johnson framed the move as a recognition that recovered copper carries more economic value than continuing to maintain outdated infrastructure.

Where the growth is coming from

That segment grew 10% year over year to $1.28 billion. It now makes up 55% of Lumen’s overall business revenue.

Strategic revenue covers higher-margin services such as network-as-a-service and private connectivity for hyperscalers.

Lumen’s PCF deals, its private connectivity agreements, have now passed $13.5 billion cumulatively, with an additional $700 million signed in the third quarter alone.

AI-related traffic on Lumen’s backbone has grown more than 1,000% since April 2026.

For comparison, AI traffic on the public internet backbone has increased by 20% since the start of 2026.

Lumen also reaffirmed its 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $3.1 billion to $3.3 billion.

What this means

The $1 billion to $1.5 billion range hinges on copper markets over a five-year window, and commodity prices rarely move in a straight line.

On the growth side, AI-related traffic on Lumen’s backbone has grown more than 1,000% since April 2026. The PCF deal pipeline is the metric to watch here. Cumulative deals above $13.5 billion show hyperscalers are committing serious money, and the additional $700 million signed in Q3 would signal the demand is durable rather than a one-time rush.

The share of strategic revenue is the other indicator. At 55% of business revenue and growing 10% annually, it is steadily crowding out the legacy business.

Lumen is essentially running two transformations at once: shrinking its past and scaling its future. The copper coming out of the ground in Florida, Iowa, Nevada, and Utah is helping pay for the fiber carrying AI traffic everywhere else.