US appetite for fibre writ large in AT&T's massive Corning order

Under the agreement, Corning will provide the US telco with various solutions from its optical networking portfolio, including its Evolv FlexNAP cable, which is equipped with a compact connector that enables network builders to deploy more lines where space is at a premium.

Perhaps more importantly – for the bean-counters at least – these particular products are manufactured in the US, meaning they comply with the 'Build America, Buy America' provisions of the government's Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) programme. This makes them potentially eligible for a chunk of the $42.5 billion of subsidies that are up for grabs.

"This new multi-year agreement with Corning helps us to connect more households, communities, and businesses with the high-speed, reliable Internet they need to thrive in a digital world," said AT&T chief executive John Stankey.

AT&T and its rivals are currently in the grip of fibre fever, racing to pass as many locations as they reasonably can, through a combination of organic investment, M&As and wholesale deals.

The 15 million-30 million premises bracket seems to be the preferred ballpark for the big three.

AT&T is aiming for the top.

During the third quarter, its fibre footprint reached 28.3 million homes and businesses. In September, it struck access deals with four wholesalers and revealed that it is exploring the possibility of increasing the coverage target at Gigapower – its wholesale joint venture with Blackrock – beyond the initial plan of 1.5 million premises. All in all, AT&T claims it is on course to pass more than 30 million locations by the end of 2025.

In Q3, AT&T added 226,000 fibre customers – its 19th straight quarter of net additions at or above 200,000. Broadband revenue grew 6.4% year-on-year to $2.84 billion, while fibre ARPU increased 3.2% to $70.36.

With metrics like that, it's easy to see why AT&T is keen to extend its network.

Verizon and T-Mobile are pushing similarly hard on fibre.

The former in early September reached a $20 billion deal to buy fibre operator Frontier Communications, putting it on course to pass 25 million premises. Meanwhile, at the latter's capital markets day, T-Mobile set a target of passing 12 million-15 million premises with fibre by the end of 2030. Its ambitions have been boosted by the acquisitions earlier this year of FTTH providers Metronet and Lumos.

The US economy stands to be one of the big beneficiaries from all this effort. According to industry group the Fibre Broadband Association, the productivity gains from widespread fibre uptake are worth $326 billion to US GDP, while it has the potential to accelerate rural economic growth by up to 44%.

The other big beneficiaries are companies like Corning, of course,

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