- Prysmian will invest $1.25B to more than double U.S. fiber and optical cable manufacturing capacity
- AI data center growth is driving a new fiber demand wave beyond traditional broadband and BEAD deployments
- U.S. fiber manufacturing is gaining strategic importance as build pipelines, tariffs, and geopolitics reshape supply chains
Cable and fiber supplier Prysmian is going big – really big – with its U.S. manufacturing operation, spending $1.25 billion to increase capacity at facilities in three states. The move will more than double its total output, underscoring the growing importance of fiber and how geopolitical forces are reshaping production footprints.
Most of the money ($1.02 billion) will go toward doubling fiber production capacity at Prysmian’s Claremont, North Carolina campus. It also plans to spend $100 million to double the footprint of its Jackson, Tennessee facility and $80 million expanding capacity for its FlexRibbon cable at its Lexington, South Carolina plant. Another $48 million will go toward beefing up optical cable manufacturing at the Claremont campus.
All told, Prysmian said it expects the expansions to create 615 new jobs.
The company is one of three major fiber manufacturers in the U.S., competing with Corning and CommScope. In 2023, CommScope spent more than $60 million expanding its manufacturing presence in North Carolina and announced further expansion plans in 2024.
But earlier efforts to boost capacity were largely focused on meeting broadband demand. Now, work is focused on serving a tidal wave of fiber demand for data center buildouts.
Last month, Prysmian inked a multi-billion-dollar deal to provide industry vendor Molex with data center fiber products. That deal followed on the heels of Corning’s announcement that it had partnered with Nvidia and planned to build three new manufacturing plants in North Carolina and Texas. Corning also has major fiber supply deals with Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon.
Spotlight on the U.S.
The focus on building up manufacturing capacity in the U.S. is a reflection of both widespread data center development in the country and increased government scrutiny of materials produced abroad.
Broadband providers receiving funding from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program already have to comply with Build America, Buy America rules, which require that certain materials be produced in the U.S.
Data center builders aren’t subject to these rules. But shipping and other costs (like tariffs) could become a huge problem for vendors lacking enough domestic manufacturing capacity. That’s because the U.S. accounts for roughly half of the 1,500 data center projects currently in the global pipeline, according to Synergy Research Group.
Furthermore, U.S. officials in various government positions are increasingly targeting foreign-made components for bans. For instance, the FCC recently shut the door on Wi-Fi routers made in other countries. The White House is also reportedly considering a ban on Chinese-made optical transceivers, a move analysts have already warned would be a huge blow to AI infrastructure development efforts.
While fiber hasn’t found itself in the government’s sights yet, it’s clear vendors aren’t taking any chances.
Read more about fiber vendors here:
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