AT&T and Corning Announce $1B Purchase Agreement

AT&T and Corning announced a multi-year purchase agreement for Corning's fiber, cable, and connectivity products, according to an announcement on Monday, October 18th. The deal comes as AT&T looks to expand its fiber network, and as the BEAD program progresses across the U.S. The agreement is valued at more than $1 billion.

AT&T is Corning's largest customer with "preferential volume status" for Corning's connectivity products.

[Note: you can watch this story in the clip below, on the BEAD/BABA Rundown:]

BABA compliance

The telco will use Corning's latest additions to the Evolv® portfolio of products including Evolv® FlexNAP™ with Multifiber Pushlok® Technology. These products will be compliant with the Build America, Buy America (BABA) provisions of the BEAD program.

BABA stipulates domestic preference for certain technology and materials involved in BEAD deployments. The NTIA recently published a list of vendors who have self-certified themselves as BABA compliant.

Expanding the fiber network

“As data and bandwidth requirements continue to grow, Corning is committed to the work of ensuring all Americans have access to reliable, high-speed fiber connections,” said Wendell P. Weeks, chairman and CEO, Corning Incorporated. “By extending our longtime relationship with AT&T, we're helping bring the transformational benefits of fiber to more people and communities. We share a fundamental belief that the more people you connect, the more value you create. And optical fiber is bringing people together at an unprecedented scale.”

AT&T's network expansion ambitions include its Gigapower open access joint venture with BlackRock, and other commercial open-access projects.