Wesco, Corning, Nokia Establish Rural Broadband Partnership

PITTSBURGH, PA--Wesco International, a provider of business-to-business distribution, logistics services and supply chain solutions, announced today that it is collaborating with Corning Incorporated and Nokia to help accelerate and simplify last-mile broadband deployment in rural and regional networks. Wesco will be the first distributor to launch a new fiber-to-the-home kit featuring Corning's award-winning FlexNAP™ components.

The Corning solution, with its passive optical components, complements the active components in Nokia's Network in a Box solution, announced in June and distributed through Wesco. By stocking both, Wesco now offers components, software and services for last-mile networks reaching up to 1,000 homes.

Public investment in broadband is accelerating, as governments look to address the Digital Divide through initiatives such as the $42 billion federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. These initiatives present significant opportunities for thousands of small, regional network operators – and yet these operators have been among those most affected by global supply-chain challenges, which can put projects at risk. Now, the collaboration between Wesco, Corning and Nokia will provide rural and regional network operators with industry-leading quality and reliable supply.

FlexNAP is the cabling solution pioneered by Corning that ushered in the era of fiber to the home. By eliminating splicing in the field and providing an end-to-end passive infrastructure, FlexNAP allows operators to complete projects up to five times faster and significantly reduces the need for skilled labor. Operators can deploy with up to 30% lower total cost than other FTTH solutions. By combining FlexNAP with Nokia’s Network in a Box, Wesco will be the distributor of the combined active and passive solutions from Corning and Nokia.

“Wesco continues to focus on helping our customers streamline their supply chains to speed fiber network builds globally, as well as rural broadband deployments throughout North America,” said Rick Arsenault, Vice President and General Manager, Global Service Providers and Broadband for Wesco. “By partnering with Corning and Nokia, and their innovative FlexNAP™ and Network in a Box solutions, we continue to accelerate connectivity to those in underserved areas as well as those fiber networks supporting 24/7/365 connectivity.”

“Smaller operators have a big part to play in bringing high-speed connections to more people and more communities,” said Steve Mitchell, Senior Vice President, Carrier Networks, Corning Optical Communications. “Corning is proud to work with Wesco and Nokia to give operators of rural and regional networks everything they need to bring fiber to homes more quickly as we work together to connect the unconnected.”

“Broadband is an essential service for the success and prosperity of our communities and nation. As the U.S. Government commits to historic funding efforts for delivering broadband to underserved families, Nokia has formed a strategic partnership with Wesco and Corning to create an incredible ecosystem that allows any size operator to confidently build a carrier-grade network utilizing best-in-class technology from Nokia and Corning,” said Shaun McCarthy, President, North America Sales at Nokia. “The partnership also means best-in-class delivery, using our ‘Network in a Box’ concept that accelerates deployments and provides consistent and expedited equipment supply chain performance.”