CORNING, N.Y. -- Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) and OFS today announced that Corning has obtained a license from OFS to offer optical fiber for use in wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) systems covered by OFS' U.S. Patent No. 6,205,268 and its foreign counterparts. This patent relates to the use of low-water-peak fibers, such as Corning(R) SMF-28e(R) fiber and OFS AllWave(R) fiber, in these particular systems. No other fiber manufacturer, foreign or domestic, has a license under this patent at this time.

The full-spectrum capability of low-water-peak fibers allows system designers using either Corning or OFS fiber to engineer and deploy systems that leverage the E-band (1360-1460 nanometer) transmission window. Access to the E-band window increases usable capacity by 50% and allows for application of dense WDM (DWDM) or coarse WDM (CWDM) across the spectrum.

Both the Corning and OFS fibers comply to ITU-T G.652.C/D standards, the industry's most stringent and comprehensive table of specifications for standard single-mode fiber. Carriers today recognize the increased network capability and opportunity for return on investment that comes with specifying to this high standard.

"This agreement between leading fiber-optic companies further demonstrates the importance of low-water-peak fibers, which leverage the 1400 nanometer band, as the standard," said Paul Neuhart, president and chief operating officer, OFS.

According to Bob Brown, senior vice president and general manager, Corning Optical Fiber, "We firmly believe in the benefits of low-water-peak fibers, which provide more usable wavelengths and allow more information to be transmitted over the same number of fibers. Low water peak fiber provides service providers with the opportunity to build for current applications and to design for future upgrades of their systems."