Corning Intros NexCor Optical Fiber

CORNING, N.Y. -- Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW), a world-leading supplier of optical fiber, introduced today a new standard single-mode fiber that handles twice the launch power of other ITU-T G.652 fibers, addressing a key technical barrier facing converged voice, video and data services networks (also known as "triple play" networks). Corning® NexCor™ optical fiber with MaxPower™ technology reduces network costs by enabling broader network coverage and more efficient network design.

NexCor fiber's advantage is designed into the optical fiber itself through Corning-engineered MaxPower technology, increasing the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) threshold of the optical fiber by 3 dB, which doubles NexCor fiber's power-handling capability over other standard single-mode fibers. With the ability to launch twice the optical power, network operators can deploy today's cost-effective analog video technology with broader network coverage – reducing costs per subscriber – with an outside plant that is more efficiently designed for migration to digital video transmission in the future.

SBS is a non-linear effect caused by high power levels that scatter transmitted light backward ("backscattering") and degrade the signal. Analog video transmission's demanding power requirements make a fiber's SBS threshold the defining limitation of networks delivering analog video to consumers today, such as passive optical networks (PON) and cable television networks. For example, with twice the launch power enabled by NexCor fiber, a PON can double the number of subscribers served per splitter and extend its reach compared with other standard single-mode fibers. This translates directly into reduced overall costs per subscriber.

"At Corning, fiber innovation has always been about tangible value creation, with customer needs driving fiber design and development," said Bob Brown, senior vice president and general manager, Corning Optical Fiber. "We worked closely with our customers and system houses to develop an optical fiber that improves network economics by addressing a specific technical limitation facing them with today's fiber technologies."

NexCor fiber will be unveiled at OFC 2004 in Los Angeles with a technical demonstration of the fiber's superior power performance within the Corning Incorporated exhibit at the Los Angeles Convention Center (Booth #3227, West Hall). A movie will be transmitted simultaneously over standard single-mode fiber and NexCor fiber and output onto two television screens. As the power level over both fibers increases equally, a dramatic degradation in the video quality over the standard fiber occurs, while the NexCor fiber transmission remains crisp and clear – an obvious demonstration of the product's capability and value to the service providers and consumers of triple play.

NexCor fiber's power advantage also enables simple design rules, allowing network planners to design all parts of the network based on the worst-case loss scenario, which reduces the cost and complexity of network implementation. And the increased power-handling capability of NexCor fiber also offers the ability to consolidate central office or headend equipment within the network, another opportunity for cost savings.

As a standard single-mode fiber, NexCor fiber is fully compatible with Corning® SMF-28e® fiber, the industry standard. Like all Corning standard single-mode fibers, NexCor fiber is ITU-T G.652.D-compliant, meeting or exceeding the most stringent and comprehensive table of specifications. ITU-T G.652.D fibers offer the most usable spectrum for robust transmission today and long-term security for the future.

Corning Inc.