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Corning Delivers Annual Optical Fiber Briefing in Conjunction with OFC 2004

Posted on: Tuesday, 24 February 2004, 06:00 CST

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) will present its annual overview of the optical fiber industry at an investor and media briefing being held today in conjunction with the annual Optical Fiber Communications Conference (OFC 2004) in Los Angeles, California. The presentation will take place at 9 a.m. PST in the Hyatt Regency Los Angeles at Macy's Plaza. ¶ Tim Regan, senior vice president, government affairs, will open the presentation with a public policy update. Bob Brown, senior vice president and general manager, Optical Fiber will then follow with Corning's perspective on the previous year's optical fiber market. He will also discuss the company's latest optical fiber product and manufacturing innovations.

¶ Public Policy

¶ Regan will provide an overview of the regulatory environment relating to fiber and offer his insight on the opportunity resulting from the recent FCC decision to deregulate broadband. He will also discuss how public policy is expected to positively influence investment in broadband and fiber to the x (FTTx).

¶ 2003 Fiber Market

¶ Brown will communicate that the total 2003 worldwide fiber market remained approximately flat at about 55 million fiber kilometers. Brown will say that these estimated numbers match Corning's expectations provided at last year's event. ¶ Brown will then detail the 2003 demand by region and application, citing the following estimates: North America, which accounted for 25% of the total worldwide demand, declined by approximately 10% as carriers continued with the capital expenditure reductions that began during 2001. Western Europe, representing 10% of the worldwide demand, remained flat. Japan, representing 30% of the worldwide demand, decreased slightly by 5%. China, representing 25% of the worldwide demand, rose 35% as fiber deployments in the metro and access application segments increased. "Other Asia," which represented 5% of the worldwide demand, decreased by about 5%; Latin America and "Rest of World," which comprised 5% of the worldwide demand, remained flat. ¶ Brown will continue by breaking out the estimated 2003 growth rates by application: long-haul terrestrial/submarine, metro, access, and premises. Long-haul terrestrial/submarine, accounting for 10% of the total worldwide demand, showed a decline of approximately 25%. Demand for fiber in metro applications, representing 45% of the total worldwide demand remained flat. Access demand grew 10% in 2003 and represented about 40% of total worldwide demand. Premises, accounting for 5% of the total worldwide demand, grew by about 5%. Brown will also note that Corning expects to see little change in 2004, with strength of worldwide fiber demand continuing to come from the metro and access segments. Premises applications should also continue to grow as the corporate economy gains momentum.

¶ Product Innovation

¶ Brown will also review Corning Optical Fiber's latest product and manufacturing innovations, including a new optical fiber for converged voice, video and data services networks (also known as "triple play" networks). Corning(R) NexCor(TM) optical fiber, announced earlier today, is a new standard single-mode fiber that handles twice the launch power of other ITU-T G.652 fibers by addressing a defining system limitation in fiber to the x (FTTx) and cable television networks delivering analog video services to consumers. ¶ NexCor fiber's power advantage is designed into the optical fiber itself through Corning-engineered MaxPower(TM) technology, which increases the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) threshold by 3 dB over other ITU-T G.652 fibers. This 3 dB increase equates directly to doubled launch power capability, reducing network costs by enabling broader network coverage and more efficient network design. NexCor fiber will be featured in the company's booth (#3227, West Hall) in a live technical demonstration of the optical fiber's power-handling and video transmission capabilities.

¶ Conference Broadcast Information

¶ Corning will make the presentations available to the public by webcast and telephone access. Please call at least 15 minutes prior to 9:00 A.M. PST and an operator will assist you. The call in number is 773.756.4632 and the password is BRIEFING. The leader is SOFIO. A replay will be available beginning at 2:30 P.M. EST and will run through 5:00 P.M. EST on Friday, March 10, 2004. To listen to the replay, dial 402.220.3062.

¶ About Corning Incorporated

¶ Corning Incorporated (www.corning.com) is a diversified technology company that concentrates its efforts on high-impact growth opportunities. Corning combines its expertise in specialty glass, ceramic materials, polymers and the manipulation of the properties of light, with strong process and manufacturing capabilities to develop, engineer and commercialize significant innovative products for the telecommunications, flat panel display, environmental, semiconductor, and life sciences industries.

¶ Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

¶ This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a variety of business risks and other uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include the possibility of changes or fluctuations in global economic conditions; currency exchange rates; product demand and industry capacity; competitive products and pricing; availability and costs of critical components and materials; new product development and commercialization; order activity and demand from major customers; capital spending by larger customers in the telecommunications industry and other business segments; the mix of sales between premium and non-premium products; possible disruption in commercial activities due to terrorist activity and armed conflict; ability to obtain financing and capital on commercially reasonable terms; acquisition and divestiture activities; the level of excess or obsolete inventory; the ability to enforce patents; product and components performance issues; and litigation. These and other risk factors are identified in Corning's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the day that they are made, and Corning undertakes no obligation to update them in light of new information or future events.

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