Corning Offers EDFA Fiber to Communications Market.

CORNING, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 1999--

Decision part of effort to broaden scope of engineered fiber

solutions for DWDM Networks

Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) today announced that it will begin selling erbium (Er) doped optical fiber, which is the heart of Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifiers (EDFA), to equipment manufacturers throughout the communications industry. The announcement marks the re-launch and expansion of Corning's specialty fiber product line.

"Specialty" or engineered fiber is an integral part of many high-performance optical communication devices including optical amplifiers, transmission lasers, and dispersion compensation modules. Demand for these and other devices is increasing dramatically as communications networks move into the dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) arena at high data rates (10 Gb/s and faster).

"The bandwidth revolution is driving development of high-performance DWDM devices - all of which need top-quality, highly consistent specialty fiber," said Michael Toro, product line manager for Corning PureMode(TM) engineered fiber, Photonic Technologies Division. "Corning will leverage its unmatched strength in manufacturing and technical expertise to provide superior products and service to our customers."

In response to increased demand, Corning will broaden the scope of its specialty fiber product line, now called Corning PureMode engineered fiber. PureMode Er 1550C fiber is a proven, versatile fiber for EDFAs optimized for the conventional band (C-band) transmission window. Corning introduced the world's first EDFA in 1990, and today is the world's leading supplier of optical amplifier modules.

In addition to selling PureMode Er 1550C, Corning expects to introduce several new specialty fibers during the next 18 months. "Engineered fiber has always been a natural extension of Corning's core leadership in optical fiber and photonic products," Toro said. "We will continue to set standards and provide high-performance fiber solutions for the DWDM market."

Other products in the Corning PureMode engineered fiber product line include:

- PureMode HI 980 fiber, a single-mode fiber used as pigtail fiber

for 980 nanometer (nm) laser pumps, and as component fiber in

EDFAs. - PureMode HI 780 and PureMode HI 1060 fiber, single-mode optical

fibers used for pigtail and coupling applications. These products

provide excellent protection from bend-induced attenuation and

highly efficient coupling of light to the fiber core. - PureMode PM 1550 and PureMode PM 1310 fiber, highly birefringent 

single-mode optical fibers used in terminals between transmission

lasers and external modulators. - PureMode RC 1300 and PureMode RC 1550 fiber, reduced clad

diameter single-mode optical fiber for use in tightly coiled

fiber applications with reduced bend loss.

For more information about Corning PureMode engineered fibers, visit the Photonic Technologies Division website at http://www.corningphotonics.com

Established in 1851, Corning Incorporated creates leading-edge technologies for the fastest-growing segments of the world's economy. Corning manufactures optical fiber, cable and photonic components for the telecommunications industry; and high-performance displays and components for television and other communications-related scientific, semiconductor and environmental markets. Corning's total revenues in 1998 were $3.5 billion. Information on the company is available at .