New Delhi, July 25 -- NEW YORK - Hans Vestberg was not speaking in hypotheticals. The Verizon chief executive, presenting second-quarter results on Thursday that beat expectations and prompted the company to raise its annual revenue outlook, described a coming pipeline of technology partnerships that would make the Google agreement look like an opening act.

"There are more deals coming," Vestberg told analysts on the earnings call, "worth billions in revenue, before the end of this year."

The deal he was referencing - a contract valued at more than $1 billion that Verizon announced alongside its quarterly results - marks the telecom's most significant push yet into the AI infrastructure boom reshaping the American technology landscape. ...