Corning Delivers Annual Optical Fiber Briefing at OFC/NFOEC 2005

    Business Editors/Technology Editors
    OFC/NFOEC 2005

    ANAHEIM, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 2005--Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) will present its 24th annual overview of the optical fiber industry at an investor and media briefing being held today in conjunction with the OFC/NFOEC Conference in Anaheim, CA. The presentation will take place at 8 a.m. PST in the Anaheim Marriott Hotel on 700 W. Convention Way in the Los Angeles/La Jolla rooms.
    Eric S. Musser, newly named vice president and general manager of Corning Optical Fiber, will provide attendees with Corning's perspective on the 2004 optical fiber market and will discuss worldwide fiber demand by region and application segment. He will also address the telecommunications environment, including fiber to the X (FTTx), and give an update on Corning fiber, cable, hardware and equipment product developments.

    2004 Fiber Market

    Musser will communicate that the total 2004 worldwide fiber market remained stable for the second year in a row at about 55 million fiber kilometers. Musser will say that these estimated numbers match Corning's expectations provided at last year's event.
    Musser will then detail the 2004 demand by region and application, citing the following estimates: North America, which accounted for 30 percent of the total worldwide demand, grew by about 30 percent over 2003, as a result of increased demand from regional Bell operating companies municipalities in support of their FTTx buildouts. China, representing 25 percent of worldwide demand, was stable year-over-year as it continues to focus on network builds in the intra-provincial, metro, and access segments. Western Europe, representing 15 percent of the worldwide demand, increased by approximately 10 percent with broadband demand sparking new cable deployments.
    Japan, representing 15 percent of the worldwide demand, decreased by about 40 percent, driven by a sharp drop in fiber deployment by both NTT and the power utilities in the region. "Other Asia," which represented 10 percent of the worldwide demand, grew by about 10 percent primarily due to positive market dynamics in India and Australasia. The "Rest of World" segment, which comprised 5 percent of the worldwide demand, was up about 40 percent, with growth seen in Russia, the Middle East, South Africa and Latin America.
    Musser will continue by breaking out the estimated 2004 growth rates by application: long-haul terrestrial/submarine, metro, access and premises. Long-haul terrestrial/submarine, accounting for 10 percent of the total worldwide demand, showed an increase of about 15 percent off of a small base, driven by growth in emerging markets such as Latin America, Russia, Eastern Europe and Africa where country-level backbone projects are continuing. Demand for fiber in metro applications, representing 40 percent of the total worldwide demand was up approximately 15 percent as a result of activity in North America, Western Europe and most of Asia. Access demand, which makes up about 45 percent of total worldwide demand, was down 15 percent overall due to the drop off in Japan that was not fully offset by access growth in other regions of the world. Excluding Japan, the access segment actually grew by about 20 percent. Premises, accounting for 5 percent of the total worldwide demand, grew by about 15 percent with data centers showing the strongest growth.
    Musser will also note that with regard to 2005, Corning expects to see some modest growth in the market. Although Japan is expected to decline slightly relative to 2004, this decrease will more than likely be offset by strength in North America and modest growth in other regions of the world. Worldwide fiber demand growth will continue to come from the metro and access segments - with growth in North American broadband initiatives leading the way.

    Telecommunications Environment

    Musser will then briefly review the 2004 results for Corning's Telecommunications segment. At last year's event, Corning expressed its confidence in a bright future for its telecommunications segment, and Musser will say that Corning's 2004 results bore that out.
    "We saw continued growth in hardware and equipment globally in 2004, driven by access construction and this business now represents about half our Telecommunications segment's revenue," Musser will say. "Corning experienced fiber price declines of less than 10 percent in 2004, and performed well with an 18 percent increase in fiber demand in a market of relatively flat volume. This was driven primarily by growth in North America resulting from the commencement of Verizon's fiber-to-the-premises build-out."
    While addressing the Corning plan for 2005, Musser will say, "Any industry recovery will be led by construction in the access segment of the network, which is why we are focused on the FTTx opportunity around the globe." Corning will be working to grow its hardware and equipment business globally and expects modest growth in the fiber and cable volume, primarily driven by FTTx, with fiber pricing continuing to moderate.

    Product Innovation

    As the world leader in fiber optics, Corning believes there is still ample room for value-adding innovation in fiber, cable, hardware and equipment, and remains committed to this goal. Musser will review opportunities for continuous improvement in FTTx-optimized fiber, cable, hardware and equipment. He will also discuss recent industry data showing the rapid worldwide conversion to low-water-peak single-mode fiber following Corning's 100 percent conversion to this superior product offering in 2003.
    Regarding the importance of low water peak fiber and Corning's global conversion, Musser will say, "the market is recognizing the value in low water peak fiber, as it is quickly becoming the standard. We believe our conversion has raised the bar for single-mode fiber quality in the industry."
    Musser also will announce that Corning has enhanced LEAF(R) fiber, the world's most widely deployed non-zero dispersion-shifted fiber (NZ-DSF), by providing low water peak attenuation, including post-hydrogen aging. Corning is now the first and only manufacturer to offer 100 percent low water peak terrestrial NZ-DS fiber worldwide. Low water peak attenuation for NZ-DSFs enables opportunities with emerging technologies such as Raman amplification and 40 Gb/s transmission. This latest evolution of LEAF fiber maintains complete backwards compatibility with the millions of kilometers of LEAF fiber already sold.
    Finally, Musser will briefly provide an update on Corning's premises fiber activities, including Corning's newest multimode fiber, InfiniCor(R) eSX+ fiber for extended reach transmission, and Corning's leadership in reliable 10 Gb/s performance.

    Conference Broadcast Information

    Corning will make the OFC/NFOEC briefing presentation available to the public by webcast and telephone access. The broadcast will be held today at 8 a.m. PST. The dial-in number is (630) 395-0017. The password is BRIEFING and the leader is SOFIO. A replay of the call will begin at approximately 10:00 am PST and will run through 12 p.m. PST on March 22. To access the replay, dial (402) 280-9972; a password is not required. A live audio webcast will be available at www.corning.com/investor_relations and will remain there for one year following the call.

    About Corning Incorporated

    Corning Incorporated (www.corning.com) is a diversified technology company that concentrates its efforts on high-impact growth opportunities. Corning combines its expertise in specialty glass, ceramic materials, polymers and the manipulation of the properties of light, with strong process and manufacturing capabilities to develop, engineer and commercialize significant innovative products for the telecommunications, flat panel display, environmental, semiconductor, and life sciences industries.

    Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

    This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a variety of business risks and other uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include the possibility of changes or fluctuations in global economic conditions; currency exchange rates; product demand and industry capacity; competitive products and pricing; availability and costs of critical components and materials; new product development and commercialization; order activity and demand from major customers; capital spending by larger customers in the telecommunications industry and other business segments; the mix of sales between premium and non-premium products; possible disruption in commercial activities due to terrorist activity and armed conflict; ability to obtain financing and capital on commercially reasonable terms; acquisition and divestiture activities; the level of excess or obsolete inventory; the ability to enforce patents; product and components performance issues; and litigation. These and other risk factors are identified in Corning's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the day that they are made, and Corning undertakes no obligation to update them in light of new information or future events.

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CONTACT: Corning Incorporated Media Relations: Lisa A. Burns, 607-974-4897 burnsla@corning.com or M. Elizabeth Dann, 607-974-4989 dannme@corning.com or Investor Relations: Kenneth C. Sofio, 607-974-7705 sofiokc@corning.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE CHEMICALS/PLASTICS ENVIRONMENT TELECOMMUNICATIONS MANUFACTURING TRADESHOW CONFERENCE CALLS SOURCE: Corning Incorporated

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