Corning Inc announced plans to build a new optical cable manufacturing plant in Arizona on Tuesday, as the US government moves to award $42 billion in broadband funding to millions of underserved Americans.
The factory in Gilbert, Arizona, which is set to open in 2024, will help supply AT&T, the largest fiber internet provider in the United States, the companies’ CEOs said in a joint interview with Reuters.
Chief Executive Wendell Weeks stated that the factory was the latest in a series of investments in fiber and cable manufacturing totaling more than $500 million since 2020 to nearly double Corning’s supply capacity and that it came after extensive discussions with AT&T about its demand.
Weeks stated that the Arizona plant will employ approximately 250 people and is designed to expand if demand warrants.
He stated that rising fiber demand is being driven by 5G wireless networks, fiber deployment to homes, cloud computing, and the government’s broadband investment plans.
“It is our responsibility to meet the needs of the country,” Weeks said.
Corning announced in September 2021 that it would invest $150 million in optical cable manufacturing in North Carolina.
AT&T also announced on Tuesday that it would expand fiber-based broadband to more than 100,000 homes in Mesa, Arizona, one of the state’s fastest-growing areas.
“Ultimately, everything is moving to a single fiber-fed infrastructure to deal with the demand equation,” AT&T CEO John Stankey said, adding that the trends are “all rooted in massively increasing consumption.”
Over the next five years, traffic is expected to increase fivefold, according to Stankey. “There must be infrastructure in place to deal with that,” Stankey said.
Congress set aside $42.5 billion for grants to states to expand broadband infrastructure as part of a $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed in November 2021. According to government and industry estimates, 15 to 18 million US households lack access to high-speed internet.
According to officials, the Federal Communications Commission must still complete new maps detailing areas without internet, and funding will not be released until 2023.
Reuters reported that Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who will join Stankey and Weeks in Arizona on Tuesday, had been meeting with telecom and manufacturing CEOs to ensure adequate capacity to expand broadband service.
She called the new Arizona plant a “win” because it will help produce the fiber needed to extend internet access while also “creating more high-quality jobs.”
The Commerce Department-led government broadband grant program includes “Buy America” provisions, which require grant recipients to purchase American-made products like optical cables and transmission equipment but also allows for waivers. It also “prioritizes projects aimed at delivering fiber connectivity.”
“We’re going to be realistic. Not everything will be manufactured in the United States “Raimondo explained. “We take Buy America seriously; everything that can be made in America should be made in America.”
