Corning solves optical fiber density challenge through collaboration
Published: May 15, 2025
Breakthrough Optical Fiber Technology
As the early morning sun just started to peek above the tree line outside Kings Mountain State Park in western North Carolina, a crew of about a dozen workers in bright, reflective safety gear, wearing hard hats and goggles, gathered to set out on a job they’d done time and time again, unspooling a wooden reel of fiber optic cable so large it towers above all of them.
But this job marked a momentous endeavor: Lumen laying miles of Corning’s revolutionary new Contour™ Flow cable to accelerate and simplify Lumen’s long-haul AI network deployment, connecting the nearby metropolitan hub of Charlotte with data centers across the country.
Double the Fiber, Same Diameter
The occasion was set into motion months earlier after Lumen presented a challenge to Corning: the need to fit more fiber into Lumen’s existing duct network.
Geno Flori, a regional Vice President for Lumen, was at the build site and remarked on the challenge: “We needed a fiber that could handle the demands of today and tomorrow capacity-wise. With the boom of AI, it was very important for us to get a cable that had that capacity. But also, it was key for it to be small enough to fit into our existing conduit.The product Corning developed being deployed here today is doing just that for us.”
At the heart of the cable is Corning® SMF-28® Contour fiber, a 40% smaller fiber offering improved bend resilience and increased efficiency in high-density environment installations. One Contour Flow cable can fit double the amount of fiber in the same diameter as traditional RocketRibbon® cables. What started as a simple conversation about cable density, turned into a real-world solution that will connect vitally important data centers nationwide.
Contour Flow is also part of Corning’s new GlassWorks AI™ portfolio of solutions and services to help customers navigate complex network-design challenges of artificial intelligence. AI has changed the way we process data, build data centers, and the networks to connect them, which is why Corning created GlassWorks AI — a one-stop-shop of customized data center products and services.
A Legacy of Innovation
This project’s deployment in North Carolina held special significance because that is where Corning’s highly skilled workforce has been manufacturing optical fiber and cable for more than 40 years. In a world increasingly dependent on seamless connectivity, it's a reminder that with the right vision and collaboration, we can build the networks that will support the next generation of technological advances. As we look to the future, projects like these highlight the importance of continuous innovation and serve as a shining example of what is possible when determination meets expertise. The future of AI is bright, and thanks to these groundbreaking efforts, it's more connected than ever.
