AT&T announces $1 bln fiber deal with Corning

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October 28, 2024 – 6:24 AM PDT

The AT&T logo is seen in a store window, as airports around the country are awaiting for Verizon and AT&T to rollout their 5G technology, in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., January 19, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

(Reuters) – AT&T (T.N) said on Monday it had struck a $1 billion multi-year deal with Corning (GLW.N) to buy fiber, cable, and connectivity solutions, as the U.S. telecom giant looks to expand its high-speed internet services.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

With the U.S. wireless market facing a slowdown, telecom companies such as AT&T and rival Verizon (VZ.N) have doubled down on their high-speed internet businesses, an area that has long been dominated by broadband companies such as Comcast (CMCSA.O).

Demand has also been growing for AT&T’s plans that allow customers to combine its high-speed fiber data with its wireless phone service for a discount.

The company expects the deal with Corning to boost its network expansion and enhance performance while minimizing deployment costs.

In the third quarter, AT&T reported 28.3 million fiber passings, or the number of potential customer locations a fiber network passes by. It remains on track to pass more than 30 million fiber passingsby the end of 2025.

CONTEXT

AT&T’s fiber business added 226,000 customers in the third quarter, falling short of expectations for 257,860 additions, according to Visible Alpha.

This was primarily due to a work stoppage that began in August in its southeast region and impacted fiber installations.

^{Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath}

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