A Senior Executive at Supply Chain Logistics Compa

A Senior Executive at Supply Chain Logistics Company on fiber cable:

"We're seeing a huge restriction in fiber cable availability, which that's a very critical part of the network and builds just cannot happen if that fiber is not available. That's for sure creating some concern out there."

Market Demand and Supply Overview

> Seasonal Demand: Demand for fiber buildouts is strong, following the typical seasonal peak that runs from late March/April through the end of the summer.

> The Primary Bottleneck: Bulk fiber cable is severely restricted due to high demand from the data center and hyperscale environment (such as Amazon, Google, and Meta), leaving less capacity for traditional telecom builds.

> Other Components: Aside from fiber cable, other products and miscellaneous items (such as conduit and hand tools) are experiencing no supply or lead time issues.

Impact Across Telecom Tiers

> Tier 1 Providers Protected: Major service providers like AT&T, Verizon, Brightspeed, and Lumen are largely insulated from shortages because they have direct contractual allocation programs with major manufacturers.

> Tier 2 & Tier 3 Providers Impacted: Smaller regional providers (such as Cincinnati Bell or Consolidated Communications) are facing significant challenges, with an estimated 25% of their builds currently impacted or pushed out due to a lack of available fiber.

Manufacturing Shifts (Corning and CommScope)

> Corning's Hyperscaler Focus: Corning has locked up mega-deals with hyperscalers like Amazon Web Services, Google, and Meta, turning its focus toward data center customers.

> CommScope Supply Disruption: Corning cut off its long-standing partnership of supplying raw glass to its competitor CommScope to satisfy its own customer demands, heavily disrupting CommScope and causing lead times to stretch out by months.

> Capacity Timeline: Industry participants are advised that it will take 1.5 to 2 years for new U.S. manufacturing capacity to come online to meet the surge in demand.

Active Electronics Bottlenecks

> Secondary Concern: Active network equipment requiring memory chips—sourced from vendors like Adtran, Nokia, and Calix (including ONTs, OLTs, CPE, and servers)—represents a growing but secondary bottleneck.

> Cost and Lead Times: These active components are facing double-digit cost increases and doubled lead times, though they are not currently causing widespread project cancellations.

$Corning(GLW.US)