Good morning. Verizon sees AI not just as a tool to boost efficiency but as a potential new revenue engine.
I recently spoke with Verizon CFO Tony Skiadas, who discussed how the company is working to repurpose parts of its wireline network to support AI workloads and what that could mean for Verizon’s future.
Reimagining wireline for AISkiadas explained that Verizon (
No. 30 on the Fortune 500) is testing ways to leverage its existing central offices—facilities largely freed up as copper networks are replaced by fiber—for AI processing power at the edge.
“Fiber takes up a fraction of the space compared with the old copper network,” Skiadas told me. That frees up facilities equipped with space, power, and cooling—exactly what’s needed to handle AI workloads at scale, he said.
The initiative, internally called Verizon AI Connect, centers on repurposing those assets rather than selling them. According to Skiadas, the combination of facilities and fiber positions Verizon to serve hyperscalers—large tech companies requiring custom AI infrastructure—with unique value. The company might have to spend some capital on its facilities, but it already has many of the assets in place to deliver these workloads at scale, he said.
“This is probably a medium- to long-term exercise,” he noted, “because every deal is highly customized.” Skiadas added: “But I like what I’m seeing from a sales funnel perspective. We talked about a billion-dollar sales funnel at the beginning of the year, and that’s actually doubled in terms of potential opportunity.”
While some smaller agreements could materialize this year, larger deals will take more time due to the complexity of building fiber or upgrading facilities, Skiadas explained. “It’s not a flip-the-switch thing,” he said. But the current level of demand is encouraging and will help guide where the company invests, he added.
AI inside VerizonBeyond customer offerings, Verizon is also using AI internally to improve efficiency and service, Skiadas said. He pointed to AI-driven personalization in its customer plans, tools that help support agents find answers faster, and network optimization powered by machine learning.
AI is making Verizon’s customer care both more efficient and more effective, he said. “The customer is not waiting for 10 or 15 minutes for an answer.” Verizon is also applying AI in its network and across back-office functions to improve forecasting, accuracy, and decision-making, he added.
“I’m pushing my own team on this, too, to continue to innovate,” Skiadas said. “I even use it myself for simple things.” For example, he uses it to digest reports and summarize documents. “It’s a time saver for me,” he said. “And I tell people, if I can use it, anybody can. So that’s my motivation to my team.”
Regarding the ROI of AI: “I think it’s going to take time,” Skiadas said. Some benefits, like productivity gains in customer care, are easy to quantify, while others—such as efficiency improvements in finance or better decision making—are harder to measure directly. The true measure, he emphasized, is how effectively Verizon employees can make forward-looking decisions. Ultimately, Skiadas sees the value of AI less in looking backward and more in improving forecast accuracy, guiding decisions, and enabling employees to focus on higher-value work.
I asked Skiadas what he thinks makes Verizon stand out among its competitors. Over the past seven years, Verizon has invested about $200 billion in wireless spectrum and networks—spending roughly $17–18 billion annually—to continually strengthen its network, Skiadas said.
“That’s really the hallmark of our company, and then giving customers choice and flexibility,” he said.
Sheryl Estradasheryl.estrada@fortune.com 
