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U.S. telecom operator announces sizeable procurement deal with Corning.
Verizon on Tuesday announced that it has brokered a deal worth in excess of US$1 billion to acquire fibre-optic cable from Corning.
The U.S. telco shared details of a three-year deal with the cable maker that will see it buy up to 20 million kilometres of optical fibre and related hardware per year over the 2018-2020 period. The agreement carries a minimum purchase commitment of $1.05 billion.
Verizon is working on the deployment of a next-generation fibre platform that will support its current 4G mobile business and underpin the move to 5G, as well as providing high-speed fixed broadband to customers.
"Our plans identified a shortfall in fibre supply, and Verizon has been working with business teams to forecast demand and fill supply gaps with existing suppliers," said Viju Menon, Verizon’s chief supply chain officer, in a statement.
"Securing the required volume of optical fibre and hardware solutions with Corning will ensure we meet our planned rollout schedules," he added.
A year ago Verizon announced plans to spend $300 million over six years to roll out fibre in Boston under its One Fiber project. It made reference to that plan in Tuesday’s announcement, but did not give any further indication of its deployment plans for the fibre it has ordered from Corning.
