AT&T signs over $3 billion fiber deal with Corning as data demand surges

Sept 29 — AT&T on Tuesday said it had signed a ​multi-year deal worth more than $3 billion with Corning to procure fiber and cable, as the ‌telecom giant expands its network to meet surging demand for data.

Corning ⁠shares rose 3.3% in ​premarket trading.

Fiber network build-out ⁠has emerged as a critical growth area ‌for the telecom ‌industry as the wireless market matures and internet ⁠usage surges.

Growing demand for ⁠data-intensive services, including AI workloads, cloud computing and connected devices, is increasing the need for faster, more resilient and scalable fiber networks.

"The average AT&T Fiber household now uses more than 1 ‌terabyte each month, 5x more than ​in 2016. And that number is expected to keep climbing," AT&T said.

Fiber is also seen as a critical component for telecom companies because it can quickly carry data for services ranging from video calls and movie streaming to AI ​tools.

The company expects aims to reach 60 million ‌fiber locations by ‌the ⁠end of the decade as part of its multi-billion dollar infrastructure expansion.

Its $5.75 billion acquisition of Lumen's fiber business has further expanded its fiber footprint. The ‌company has committed more ​than $250 billion over five ‌years to strengthen US ⁠connectivity ​infrastructure.

(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by ​Tasim Zahid)

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