Corning will produce the specialized cables required for the latest high-speed internet infrastructure push by AT&T. The multi-year agreement is valued at more than $3B and supports a goal to bring fiber access to 60 million Americans by the end of 2030. Materials will be sourced from Corning's domestic operations, including manufacturing facilities in North Carolina, and AT&T has already included the costs of the agreement in its existing financial outlook.

The expansion arrives as fiber household data usage exceeds 1 TB per month, which is about 5x levels seen in 2016, with AT&T forecasting that demand will reach 2.5 TB by 2030 due to AI, streaming and cloud services. Shares of Corning rose 3.6% in pre-market trading following the news.