Capitalizing on the growth in the installation of optical fiber for Internet and data communications in commercial buildings and industrial facilities, Graybar is now distributing Corning Cable Systems' LANscape complete optical fiber cabling solution for private networks.
The agreement includes Corning's optical fiber cable. The deal also means that St. Louis-based Graybar, a distributor of networking, telecommunications and electrical products and services, will be a leading distributor of Corning Cable Systems' LANscape optical fiber cabling solutions, a complete offering of optical fiber cable, connectivity and hardware for on-premise optical networks. Corning Cable Systems is wholly owned by Corning Inc.
"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," says Alan Eddings, vice president of Comm/Data Products at 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% for horizontal connections; 5% for backbone connections; and 3.7% 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 says. "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."
For more information visit www.graybar.com.
