Corning To Supply PureGain Amplifiers To Nortel Networks For Its Industry-Leading High-Capacity Optical Networking Systems.

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

Corning photonics helping to increase the capacity of

today's fastest networks five-fold

Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) announced today that Nortel Networks(TM) (NYSE/TSE: NT) will incorporate Corning's PureGain(TM) EDFA (erbium doped fiber amplifier) modules into its OPTera(TM) 1600G long-haul optical-amplification system. Announced last spring for availability in 2000, Nortel Networks' OPTera 1600G system will be capable of providing five times the maximum per-fiber capacity of optical networking systems available today, or the equivalent of 28 million simultaneous Internet connections over a single optical fiber.

This family of optical amplifier modules that have been designed by Corning and will be incorporated into Nortel Networks OPTera 1600G amplification systems, will allow network operators to incrementally expand the capacity of the system from 10 channels up to 160 channels (1.6 Tb/s), each operating at 10 Gb/s.

"Corning has drawn upon its expertise in optical amplification, and its successful relationship with Nortel Networks, to create a family of state-of-the-art amplifier modules custom designed for the OPTera 1600G system," said Wendell Weeks, Corning executive vice president, Opto-electronics Group. "This system and its suite of advanced amplifiers will allow for an unprecedented amount of bandwidth and speed."

Corning previously supplied the optical amplifier modules for Nortel Networks' first commercially available line of amplifiers designed for the 10 Gb/s transmission market. These DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing) systems are used in more than 90% of today's 10 Gb/s networks.

"We believe the current demand and level of industry acceptance of this new, configurable network architecture will significantly increase our amplifier module shipments to Nortel Networks in 2000," said Gerry Fine, vice president and general manager, Corning Photonic Technologies Division.

As the world's leading supplier of EDFAs, Corning has designed a family of seven PureGain amplifier modules to meet the needs of the OPTera 1600G system. These new EDFA modules operate in both the conventional 1550nm-transmission window (C-band), and the neighboring long or L-band (1570-1605nm) window. They provide high-output power; are engineered for flattened gain across wide bandwidths, and have a mid-stage access design to accommodate dispersion compensation, wavelength add-drop and other devices vital for DWDM operation.

Established in 1851, Corning Incorporated (www.corning.com) creates leading-edge technologies for the fastest-growing markets of the world's economy. Corning manufactures optical fiber, cable and photonic products for the telecommunications industry; and high-performance displays and components for television and other communications-related industries. The company also uses advanced materials to manufacture products for scientific, semiconductor and environmental markets. Corning's revenues in 1998 were $3.5 billion.

NOTE: Nortel Networks and OPTera are trademarks of Nortel Networks

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

Except for historical information and discussions contained herein, statements included in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause results to differ materially, as discussed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.