Charter Communications Inc. said it will buy 'several hundred-thousand
kilometers' of fiber from Corning Inc. as part of a plan to consolidate its key
headends and to usher in a blend of voice, video and data services. Financial
terms were not disclosed.
Charter said Corning's 'MetroCor' fiber will also extend the overall path
lengths between network nodes and will be the centerpiece of a DWDM
(dense-wave-division-multiplexer) platform designed to link up regional networks
and to improve service to the operator's 6.3 million subscribers.
The MSO said it plans to begin MetroCor deployments this quarter and complete
them by the fourth quarter of 2001. When completed, Charter's fiber-rich
architecture will provide the framework for converged voice, data and video
services, the MSO said.
Charter is the first MSO to deploy MetroCor, which Corning unveiled about one
year ago.
Corning's latest customer win comes at tricky time for the company. On
Monday, it said customer spending slowdowns had caused it to cut its 2001 pro
forma earnings estimate to between $1.20 and $1.30 per share from $1.40 to
$1.43. Corning said its current first-quarter pro forma earnings guidance of
$0.28 to $0.31 per share remains unchanged.
At the same time, Corning is 'moving aggressively' on more stringent
cost-control plans, including more work-force reductions.
