Expansion of Supplier Relationship With Corning Cable Systems Enables Graybar to Help Customers Build and Network Commercial Offices and Industrial Facilities

Business Wire, June 13, 2002

Business Editors & High Tech Writers

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 13, 2002

Graybar Now Stocks Corning Cable Systems' Complete LANscape(R) Fiber

Optic Cabling for Private Networks

Capitalizing on the growth in the installation of fiber optics for Internet and data communications in commercial buildings and industrial facilities, Graybar has announced it is now distributing Corning Cable Systems' LANscape(R) complete fiber optic cabling solution, including its fiber optic cable, for private networks.

The deal also means that St. Louis-based Graybar, the leading distributor of networking, telecommunications and electrical products and services, will be a leading distributor of Corning Cable Systems' LANscape fiber optic cabling solutions, a complete offering of fiber optic cable, connectivity and hardware for on-premise optical networks. Corning Cable Systems is wholly owned by Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW).

"Fiber optic cable is the backbone of high-speed telecom and data networks, which are being deployed more and more by large companies, industrial plants and campus-based institutions to connect one floor to another and one building to another," said Alan L. Eddings, vice president, Comm/Data Products, Graybar.

These structured cabling systems include vertical or backbone connections from floor to floor, campus connections from building to building, and horizontal connections to desktop devices. The fiber also can be used to create virtual private networks (VPNs) or to converge voice and data onto one network using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, which also is available through Graybar, which sells products from more than 4,500 manufacturers worldwide.

Communications Industry Researchers Inc., an optical marketing research and consulting firm, predicts the number of fiber-connected buildings in the United States alone will more than double from 21,000 in 2001 to more than 43,000 in 2005. Additionally, according to a report by the Building Services Research & Information Association, the U.S. structured cabling market will grow annually through 2005 by 10.1 percent for horizontal connections; 5 percent for backbone connections; and 3.7 percent for campus connections.

"With Corning Cable Systems as our lead supplier of fiber optic cable, connectivity and hardware for premises networks, Graybar is strengthening its commitment to helping customers build and network offices and industrial facilities with speed, intelligence and efficiency," Eddings said. "We can now provide our customers with the full line of Corning Cable Systems' products to meet their day-to-day networking needs and to successfully complete large-scale projects."

Potential Graybar customers of Corning Cable Systems' fiber optic gear for premises networks include businesses, campus-based organizations such as universities and medical centers, and commercial contractors constructing new buildings and facilities.

Graybar already has begun to stock Corning Cable Systems' fiber optic cable for premises networks in its regional zone warehouses throughout the United States. The company already sells Corning Cable Systems' connectors and hardware, and the addition of the fiber optic cable marks an expansion of the supplier agreement between the two companies. Graybar's leading-edge information technology and logistics capabilities are raising the bar on performance and value for its customers, enabling them to order and receive Graybar's products and services within 24 hours from anywhere in the United States.

About Graybar

St. Louis-based Graybar, a Fortune 500 company, is a specialist in supply management services and the leading distributor of equipment and materials for the construction, telecommunications, networking, industrial, commercial and utilities industries. One of the largest employee-owned companies in the United States, Graybar has distribution centers throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. For more information, please visit www.graybar.com.

About Corning Cable Systems

Corning Cable Systems is an industry-leading global manufacturer of fiber optic and copper telecommunications system solutions for voice, data and video network applications. The company, wholly owned by Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW), provides customers a complete offering of value-added, tip-to-tip products and services needed to build the passive network infrastructures to carry a signal from the point it is generated to the point it is received around the world.

About Corning

Established in 1851, Corning Incorporated (www.corning.com) creates leading-edge technologies for the fastest-growing markets of the world's economy. Corning manufactures optical fiber, cable and photonic products for the telecommunications industry; and high-performance displays and components for television, information technology and other communications-related industries. The company also uses advanced materials to manufacture products for scientific, semiconductor and environmental markets. Corning revenues for 2001 were $6.3 billion.