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AT&T has signed a multi-year supply agreement with Corning valued at more than $3 billion. Under the deal, Corning will provide fiber and cable to support AT&T's goal of reaching 60 million fiber locations by the end of 2030. AT&T said the typical household on its fiber network now consumes over a terabyte of data monthly, five times more than in 2016. The company projects consumption will rise to between 2 and 2.5 terabytes per month by 2030. Corning will produce the fiber at US facilities, including operations in North Carolina. The deal follows similar agreements Corning has struck with Amazon, Nvidia, and Meta. Corning's Optical Communications segment posted net sales of $2.07 billion in the second quarter, up 32% year-on-year.

Can AT&T (T) turn higher ARPU into bigger cash flow? AT&T's improving wireless pricing environment, fiber expansion, and strong free cash flow support service revenue growth, while heavy debt, capital requirements, and declining legacy services remain key challenges. Published September 28, 2026 at 8:11 pm EDT On September 21, BNP Paribas upgraded AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) to Outperform from Neutral, raising its price target from $26 to $30. The firm highlighted a more rational competitive landscape in the U.S. wireless sector, characterized by reduced handset subsidies and well-received rate increases. According to BNP, these tailwinds should accelerate AT&T's wireless service revenue growth in the second half of 2026. The analyst notes that sustained expansion in average revenue per user (ARPU) could generate a couple of billion dollars in incremental annual revenue, EBITDA, and free cash flow over time. Following the announcement, AT&T shares rose 1% in premarket trading to $25.57. Bull case: expanding fiber footprint and high-margin connectivity. The bull case centers on AT&T Inc.'s recurring, high-margin connectivity momentum validating BNP's thesis. In Q2 2026, AT&T reported consolidated revenues of $31.6 billion (up 2.3% year-over-year), driven by Advanced Connectivity service revenue growth of 5.1% to $23.5 billion. Operating efficiency was evident as adjusted EBITDA grew 5.2% to $12.3 billion and adjusted EPS expanded 20.4% to $0.65. Growth was fueled by 432,000 postpaid phone net adds alongside 646,000 total broadband adds (367,000 fiber and 279,000 fixed wireless). Combined with 38.6 million fiber locations reached, keeping AT&T on track for over 40 million by year-end 2026, the company generated $4.7 billion in quarterly free cash flow. This operational stability underpins management's plan to return over $45 billion to shareholders through 2028, including $10 billion in 2026 share buybacks. Bear case: high debt and persistent legacy headwinds. Conversely, bears point out that macro improvements in wireless pricing may be offset by structural balance sheet constraints and ongoing legacy declines. AT&T ended Q2 2026 with $144.0 billion in total debt ($126.4 billion net debt). While leverage is projected to decline toward the target 2.5x range over three years, capital intensity remains steep, with annual capital investments budgeted at $23 billion to $24 billion through 2028. Furthermore, as AT&T powers down its copper network by 2029, legacy service revenues face an accelerated decline of 20%+ in 2026, with legacy EBITDA expected to turn negative after 2027. If promotional competition resurfaces or subscriber migration slows, heavy capital commitments could squeeze net returns. Market sentiment and conclusion. Market sentiment has turned increasingly constructive, buoyed by multi-year free cash flow guidance ($18 billion+ in 2026) and analyst consensus surrounding disciplined sector pricing. The BNP upgrade reinforces a key dynamic: if industry rationalization holds, AT&T Inc.'s steady Advanced Connectivity growth can comfortably offset legacy drag and support its capital return commitments. However, realizing the $30 price target requires flawless execution in fiber deployment and debt reduction amidst ongoing infrastructure spending. Related Insider Monkey Articles

AT&T and Corning sign $3 billion fiber and cable agreement. AT&T and Corning have signed a multiyear agreement valued at more than $3 billion to support AT&T's fiber network expansion and meet growing demand for high-capacity broadband driven by AI, cloud services, streaming, and other data-intensive applications. Sept. 29, 2026 Key highlights. * AT&T and Corning signed a multiyear agreement valued at more than $3 billion, with Corning supplying the fiber and cable needed for AT&T's network expansion. * The average AT&T fiber household now uses more than 1 TB of data per month, about five times the 2016 level. AT&T expects monthly usage to reach 2-2.5 TB by 2030. * The agreement supports AT&T's stated goal of reaching 60 million Americans with fiber by the end of 2030 while building on U.S. manufacturing and infrastructure investments by both companies. AT&T and Corning Incorporated have entered into a multiyear agreement valued at more than $3 billion under which Corning will supply fiber and cable for AT&T's network expansion. The companies say the agreement will support AT&T's efforts to increase fiber availability and meet rising demand for high-capacity connectivity driven by streaming, cloud services, gaming, video communications, and AI. AT&T says the agreement supports its goal of bringing fast, reliable internet access to 60 million Americans by the end of 2030. Corning's fiber and cable solutions are expected to help AT&T accelerate network deployment and improve installation efficiency as it expands its fiber footprint. Rising data demand drives network investment. The companies point to continued growth in household data consumption as a key factor behind the investment. According to AT&T, the average AT&T Fiber household now uses more than 1 terabyte of data per month, approximately five times the level recorded in 2016. AT&T expects monthly household usage to reach between 2 and 2.5 terabytes by 2030 as consumers and businesses increasingly rely on video streaming, gaming, video calls, cloud applications, AI tools, live camera feeds, and other data-intensive services. Fiber's combination of speed, reliability, and capacity makes it a central component of AT&T's strategy for addressing that growth. The company says fiber provides the high-capacity foundation for connecting homes, businesses, and communities, while wireless and satellite technologies extend connectivity beyond fixed locations and into remote or difficult-to-reach areas. Continuing a longstanding supplier relationship. "Fiber remains the gold standard for superior internet connectivity, and AT&T is the nation's leader in fiber," said John Stankey, Chairman and CEO of AT&T. "Fiber's speed, reliability and capacity remain unmatched for any home or business. We deeply value our long and successful relationship with Corning and look forward to continuing our work together as we expand the nation's largest fiber network and make the long-term investments needed to keep America connected." The agreement builds on a longstanding relationship between the two companies as AT&T continues investing in its fiber infrastructure. Focus on U.S. Manufacturing and supply chains. The agreement also links the companies' investments in U.S. infrastructure and manufacturing. AT&T said that, marking the 150th anniversary of the first telephone call, it committed more than $250 billion over five years to strengthening U.S. connectivity infrastructure. Corning, meanwhile, is continuing to expand its U.S. fiber and cable manufacturing operations, including facilities in North Carolina that the company says have created hundreds of jobs. "Corning and AT&T have worked side by side for generations to connect people across this country, and this agreement is the next chapter in that partnership," said Wendell Weeks, Chairman, CEO, and President of Corning. "By pairing our large, U.S.-based advanced manufacturing with AT&T's network leadership, we can keep co-innovating to build the dense fiber networks that will drive the future of connectivity - while sustaining thousands of highly skilled American jobs and strengthening domestic supply chains." Under the arrangement, Corning's U.S. workforce will manufacture fiber, while AT&T technicians will deploy and maintain the networks serving homes, businesses, and communities. AT&T describes its technician workforce as the industry's largest union-represented workforce. The companies say the combined investment will support domestic manufacturing and network deployment while strengthening the U.S. fiber supply chain. The agreement represents another significant investment in fiber infrastructure as network operators prepare for continued growth in data consumption and the expanding connectivity requirements associated with AI and other emerging applications. Stay connected with ISE magazine. Subscribe to its newsletters and magazine for the latest telecom insights, explore the current issue for in-depth features and strategies, and register for upcoming webinars to learn directly from industry leaders. This piece was created with the help of generative AI tools and edited by its content team for clarity and accuracy.