Fiber price hikes

Corning Inc., Corning, NY, plans to increase the prices of its 62.5/125- and 50/125-micron multimode optical-fiber products by 15%, effective April 1. Increased demand for optical fiber, which has created an industry-wide shortage, and higher prices for germanium tetrachloride, a key dopant component in optical fiber, have led to the price hike.

On January 1 of this year, AT&T Network Cable Systems in Phoenix increased its multimode prices by 12%. Another near-term increase for multimode fiber could occur, depending on price fluctuations related to germanium tetrachloride. This year could be a big year for multimode fiber because fiber-to-the-premises and fiber-to-the-desk markets are expected to increase substantially.