Corning, Nokia, and Wesco collaborate to provide rural network operators with fiber to the home kits that accelerate and simplify deployment.
By Jason Zelley
Published: November 10, 2022
Our industry has arrived at a moment of tremendous opportunity to bridge the Digital Divide in Rural America, with government funding available and more on the way. Yet rural and regional networks have faced significant challenges ranging from supply chain disruptions to labor constraints. Not only that, but project delays can put funding at risk.
To help these operators accomplish their deployments and keep their projects on track, Corning just announced an innovative collaboration with Nokia and Wesco to address operators’ labor and supply challenges, offering them industry-leading quality and reliable supply.
An opportunity to connect the unconnected
Historically underserved rural Americans are seeing significant efforts to speed broadband deployments in their regions. For years, capital flowed primarily to higher-density deployments, but the latest rounds of public funding have changed the equation. And that’s good, because the pandemic demonstrated more clearly than ever how fundamental it is to have access to broadband, no matter where you live. That’s why digital connectivity is increasingly being viewed as a basic human right.
Yet rural operators often lack the resources to connect areas with fewer homes per mile. Now, as capital becomes available to deliver connectivity to underserved communities, regional network operators still must contend with supply and labor constraints. To address these issues, they need trusted partners with proven capabilities.
That’s where Corning, Nokia and Wesco come in. Corning and Nokia provide industry-leading technology and the ability to deliver solutions at scale. Adding the global supply chain solutions provider, Wesco, to the mix brings assurance of supply.
Rural and regional operators can now turn to Wesco for a powerhouse combination of Nokia and Corning components. They can get Nokia’s “Network in a Box” kit for the active components of their network, and Corning’s FlexNap™ system solutions for their passive components. By stocking both, Wesco offers components, software and services for last-mile networks reaching up to 1,000 homes.
Corning’s award-winning FlexNAP system ushered in the era of fiber to the home by eliminating splicing in the field. Reducing the deployment time and need for skilled labor, this preconnectorized solution allows operators to complete projects up to five times faster with up to 30% lower total cost than other FTTH solutions. With fewer components to manage in the field, our solution also reduces supply chain complexity to meet the unique challenges of modern network deployments.
Bridging the digital divide and connecting the unconnected in rural America will require close collaboration between industry leaders to provide operators with cost-effective solutions. Our collaboration with Nokia and Wesco unlocks opportunities for rural and regional network operators to bring connectivity even to remote areas. Addressing supply issues, facilitating field installation, and compensating for skilled labor constraints with preterminated solutions, this collaboration positions network operators to bring connectivity to many more homes in rural America -- expanding the bandwidth of human potential nationwide.
Interested in learning more? Check out our FTTP Network In a Box Kit.
