CommScope Corning Announces New Cable Facility Expansion Plan

The U.S. Department of Commerce reported on the 29th that CommScope and Corning plans to jointly invest 550 million US dollars in the expansion of optical cable factories to improve the digital infrastructure in the United States.

CommScope plans to invest an additional $47 million in expansion plans, including a plant in Catawba, North Carolina, which is already the world's largest optical cable plant for broadband networks. In the future, CommScope plans to produce new fiber optic cables specifically for construction in rural areas. The company's HeliARC line, a lightweight, compact fiber optic cable, plans to support FTTH deployments in 500,000 U.S. homes annually. It is expected that this expansion will bring at least 250 jobs to the United States in the next five years. In addition to the Catawba factory, CommScope also has a factory in Claremont in North Carolina.

CommScope CEO Chuck Treadway said the expansion is an important step in implementing their "Broadband for Everyone" plan. CommScope will strive to produce more cost-effective, deployable fiber optic cables while creating more jobs.

Corning will start a new fiber optic cable factory near Hickory, North Carolina, and cooperate with NTCA-Rural Broadband Association to provide the required fiber optic cables for small operators in rural areas. NTCA's CEO Shirley Bloomfield announced in February this year that Corning would reserve the required optical cables for them. Since 2020, Corning has continued to expand its optical fiber and cable production capacity, investing more than US$500 million. The latest project is a factory in Arizona.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said that the goal of the U.S. government is not only to narrow the digital divide, but also to revive the U.S. manufacturing industry and create more jobs in Hickory and other places. NTIA, the US National Telecommunications and Information Commission, has launched up to $48 billion in funding towards this goal.