How Corning’s Optical Fiber and Connectivity Solutions Make High-Speed Broadband and AI Accessible To More People
Joe Jensen
Published: May 29, 2025
The next time you buy something online, artificial intelligence (AI) may not only help you find the right product faster, but it could also possibly even order it for you. New tools recently unveiled by some of the largest AI companies are giving users the power to try on clothes virtually or even give you your own personalized agent to take care of online tasks like making reservations or buying tickets. It’s no surprise considering a recent study found AI tools are increasingly influencing buying habits. The study revealed more than 30% of shoppers in 2024 used AI-powered assistants to help them make purchase decisions, up from 22% in 2023. AI is not only transforming the way we shop, but our relationship with technology, the internet, and the communities we live in.
Data Demand and Connectivity
As consumer demand for inferencing AI grows, so too are the demands for the fiber networks that make it all a reality. Generative AI is leveraging the near limitless potential of optical fiber to transmit data at light speed within and between data centers where it can then be quickly processed to create large language models which AI learns from and uses to operate. Individual users who want to take full advantage of AI’s capabilities need the kind of rapid fire connectivity in their homes that can be provided most efficiently with fiber.
While we don’t yet fully know how AI will become part of our daily lives, we do know optical fiber’s low loss, low latency and high reliability makes it more capable than other traditional connections to handle not only AI, but video conferencing, media streaming, and remote work all at the same time.
No Communities Left Behind
Recent public interest in AI and a trend towards more digitally connected communities is making even more clear the so-called digital divide – where lack of access to technology is creating digital inequality in underserved communities that is often split along geographic lines. Gauging by the rate at which data demands are increasing, communities that are still relying on traditional copper networks to stay connected to the internet are at risk of getting left behind if they don’t get transitioned to a more reliable source of broadband.
The need for fiber broadband is not just about enjoying the conveniences of speedy AI responses and other modern connected technologies. Communities that do not move to fiber are potentially losing out on significant economic growth, too. Fiber broadband has already demonstrated its ability to provide a tangible economic lift to communities where it is broadly implemented, in some cases boosting employment trends upwards of 40%.
Rural communities have often been overlooked as being too costly or too out of the way to effectively deliver fiber. But private investments as well as government programs like Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, along with industry innovations spearheaded by Corning, are changing that mindset.
This once in a generation opportunity to connect Americans to high-speed broadband could be as defining as the electrification of rural America more than 100 years ago. That is why this topic is part of the focus of a panel I am participating in at Fiber Connect 2025. The premier fiber broadband conference connects thousands of broadband leaders with customers, each who have their own unique deployment challenges. During the panel discussion, I’ll be exploring these current challenges along with where fiber broadband is headed in the near-term future and what’s further out on the horizon, particularly in rural communities. Corning is thrilled to showcase at Fiber Connect how its latest connectivity solutions are making reliable broadband a reality for even some of the most remote locations.
Connectivity Innovations Speeding Up Deployment
Closing the digital divide requires innovative solutions to deploy networks faster and more cost effectively. Corning’s expanding Pushlok® portfolio lets customers do just that. It gives installers the option to hit the “easy button,” enabling scalable, faster, and lower cost installations. Our new Field-Installable Pushlok connector combines the award-winning simplicity of Pushlok with the flexibility of a field-installable solution, allowing for quicker and easier installations. This hardened connector reduces the complexity and cost of subscriber connections by allowing installers to strip, clean, cleave, and connect in a fusion splice-free installation. Field-Installable Pushlok can significantly cut down installation time to five minutes or less — more than twice as fast compared to previous versions of hardened field installable connectors.
Connecting Communities
These are just a few of the many innovations Corning will have on hand at Fiber Connect 2025. We’re thrilled to share how our latest innovations for rural, suburban, and urban markets can speed up deployments and cut costs. Whether you’re looking to bridge the digital divide, streamline installations, or explore the future of connectivity, we invite you to visit Corning at Booth #319. Together, let’s build the networks that will support tomorrow’s innovations. See you there!
