Looking to take network resilience beyond traditional backup plans by use of artificial intelligence (AI) and delivering built-in diversity, infrastructure provider Lumen Technologies has enhanced its AI-based tools, designed to improve network resilience and improve customer experiences, while also launching Dual Path, a wavelength service providing businesses with two physically diverse network routes between the same locations.
Outlining the rationale for the launch, the infrastructure firm said resilience depends on both how a network is operated and how it is designed. It added that businesses need the ability to anticipate and resolve issues faster, while reducing hidden points of failure that can exist when different providers rely on the same underlying fibre or facilities.
It added that historically, the operational intelligence used to run networks has stayed behind the scenes, and that it was changing this by putting more of it into customers’ hands through self-service diagnostics, application programming interfaces (APIs), real-time service visibility and proactive communications tools.
The broader strategy is to extend resilience into the network itself, and make the network more digital and programmable, combining expansive physical infrastructure with software and AI-powered operations to provide businesses with greater transparency, flexibility and control over how they manage connectivity. Network resilience will then be about more than how the network is built – it will also be about how quickly companies can anticipate issues and take action.
Lumen says that together, the new Service Assurance capabilities and Dual Path service will take resilience beyond the traditional supplier diversity demands on infrastructure.
“AI is changing what businesses need from their networks,” said chief operations officer Kye Prigg. “Resilience can’t be assumed, it must be engineered, continuously operated, constantly improved. We’re combining the strength of our physical network, AI-powered operations and the expertise of our teams to identify and reduce potential single points of failure and keep critical connections running. Customers shouldn’t have to assume their network is resilient. They should be able to prove it.”
The service assurance framework is built around three principles: don’t let it break; fix it fast; and communicate effectively. AI and automation tools analyse network conditions and external risks, from weather to construction activity. More than 380 automated workflows run roughly five million times each year, with machine-to-machine intelligence that anticipates and resolves 80% of issues – according to Lumen internal data – in some cases before they impact customers.
Intelligent diagnostics, generative AI (GenAI) and automation help accelerate restoration. Lumen claims GenAI service diagnostics deflect 35% of tickets by resolving the issue or identifying the cause in real time. Lumen’s multi-agent assistant provides engineers with access to service history, network information and recommended next actions.
An AI-powered customer operations assistant, Nora, provides email access to real-time diagnostics, planned maintenance information, repair history and ticket support. During network events, customers receive proactive communication throughout restoration.
While AI-powered Service Assurance helps prevent and minimise disruptions, Lumen stressed that resilient network design was equally as important. That is, buying connections from multiple providers doesn’t necessarily create true diversity. Separate services can still share the same infrastructure, facilities or fibre routes, creating hidden points of failure.
Dual Path is designed to remove that uncertainty with two independently routed wavelengths between the same locations, both active at full bandwidth and backed by a 99.99% availability service-level agreement. The system documents physically separate, non-overlapping routes before service begins and continues monitoring them as the network evolves.
The end result is that businesses gain dual-path resilience across Lumen’s 340,000 route miles of fibre infrastructure without managing multiple carriers.
