News from the U.S.: Fiber Shortage Likely in Second Half of Year
At an Oppenheimer conference, Pascal Descroches, CFO of leading U.S. carrier AT&T, warned investors that continued supply chain tensions could cause the company to miss its goal of 3 million new FTTH connections this year. He said that while supply chain problems haven't affected big customers like AT&T in the first two quarters, many product supplies, including fiber, could run into problems starting in the third quarter.
Descroches said they may need to adjust the target slightly downward, possibly to 2.5 million, but he believes the supply chain problems won't last long. He said, "It's conceivable that even a company like AT&T is having procurement difficulties, what about other small and medium-sized businesses?"
Under the epidemic, carriers across the United States are experiencing a broadband buildout frenzy. Frontier, Altice, Consolidated Communications and TDS Telecom, including AT&T, have all said they will expand their fiber networks, and AT&T aims to have 30 million subscribers covered by 2025. In AT&T's view, fiber optic broadband is the best technology to deliver symmetrical ultra-broadband.
Tony Tripeny, CFO of Corning, AT&T's likely fiber supplier, warned in a recent 2Q earnings release that glass shortages are also afflicting them and that future quarterly fiber shortages could be on the horizon.
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