Nice to see you all here today. Welcome. The annual meeting of Corning's shareholders of Corning Incorporated will please come to order. I'm Wendell Weeks, chairman of the board of directors, chief executive officer, and president. Seated to my left are Linda Jolly, Secretary of the Corporation, and Debra Bass, the Inspector of Election. Today's meeting will include our official business as well as my reflections on the state of the company. Following the meeting, we'll have a special presentation from Michael Bell, our senior vice president and general manager of Optical Connectivity Solutions. You have the printed agenda for this meeting, but let me review the formal action that we will be taking today. Ms. Jolly will report the number of shares being voted and confirm that the meeting has been properly called. I will introduce the board of directors.
I'll call for a motion for the election of 13 directors. I'll call for a motion for the advisory vote on executive compensation. I'll call for a motion to ratify the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as Corning Incorporated's independent registered public accounting firm for 2018. Finally, I'll call for a vote on all three motions. After this formal action is completed, I will discuss the state of the company. Some of you may have questions not covered in my formal remarks. Company officers will be available in the lobby immediately following the meeting to answer your questions or guide you to the best people to address your concerns. They'll be wearing white badges to help you identify them. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions following my remarks.
Just a note, any valid ballots handed in at today's meeting won't be in this morning's preliminary vote totals, but they will be included in the official vote tally reflected in Corning's SEC filing. Now I'll start the formal part of the meeting. Madam Secretary, may we have your report on the number of shareholders represented here today?
Mr. Chairman, as of February 27th, 2018, the record date for this meeting, the company had 849,230,726 shares of common stock outstanding and the same number of shares entitled to vote. The Inspector of Election has determined that 736,567,639 shares outstanding and entitled to vote are represented and in person or by proxy at this meeting. This is 87% of the shares entitled to vote and represents a quorum for purposes of this meeting.
As you've heard, a quorum is present. May we now have a report on the proof of call and notice of the meeting?
Mr. Chairman, this meeting is being held pursuant to a notice mailed on March 16th, 2018, to shareholders of record as of February 27th, 2018. A list of shareholders entitled to vote is available for inspection.
Thank you. Please file the documents with the meeting records. It is not our practice to have the secretary read last year's meeting minutes. However, if anyone wishes to examine last year's minutes, they should see Ms. Jolly after the meeting. I will now introduce the board of directors and ask them to stand when I say their name. Please hold your applause until everyone has been introduced. Mr. Donald Blair, retired Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Nike. Dr. Stephanie Burns, retired Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Dow Corning Corporation. Mr. John Canning, Chairman of Madison Dearborn Partners. Our lead director, Mr. Richard Clark, retired Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Merck. Mr. Robert Cummings, retired Vice Chairman of Investment Banking for JPMorgan Chase. Ms. Deborah Henretta, retired Group President of Global e-Business at Procter & Gamble Company.
Dr. Daniel Huttenlocher, Dean and Vice Provost at Cornell University's New York City Tech campus. Mr. Kurt Landgraf, President of Washington College. Mr. Kevin Martin, Vice President, Mobile, and Global Access Policy at Facebook. Dr. Deborah Rieman, retired Executive Chairman of MetaMarkets Group. Mr. Hansel Tookes, retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Raytheon Aircraft. Dr. Mark Wrighton, Chancellor and Professor of Chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis. Most of you know two of our former directors who are here today, Jim Flaws, Vice Chairman and CFO, and Amo Houghton, who served as Chairman and CEO. We are honored to have them with us today, and we appreciate their ongoing participation. The first business of the day is to elect each of the 13 directors to a one-year term. I now call for nominations for directors.
Mr. Chairman, I move the following be elected directors of the corporation to serve a one-year term or until their successors have been elected: Donald Blair, Stephanie Burns, John Canning, Richard Clark, Robert Cummings, Deborah Henretta, Daniel Huttenlocher, Kurt Landgraf, Kevin Martin, Deborah Rieman, Hansel Tookes, Wendell Weeks, and Mark Wrighton.
I second that motion.
Is there any discussion? The second proposal calls for an advisory vote of shareholders approving the corporation's executive compensation as disclosed in the proxy statement. I'll now entertain a motion and resolution for that approval.
Mr. Chairman, I move the adoption of the following resolution. Resolved, that on an advisory basis, total compensation paid to the company's named executive officers, that is the CEO, the CFO, and the three other most highly compensated executives. As disclosed in the proxy statement for the 2018 annual meeting of shareholders and pursuant to the SEC's executives compensation disclosure rules, including the compensation discussion and analysis, the summary compensation table, and the supporting tabular and related narrative disclosure on executive compensation, is hereby approved.
I second the motion.
Is there any discussion? The third proposal calls for ratification of the audit committee's appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as Corning's independent registered public accounting firm for 2018. I will now entertain a motion and resolution for that ratification.
Mr. Chairman, I move adoption of the following resolution. Resolve that the shareholders of the corporation ratify the audit committee's reappointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the corporation's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31st, 2018.
I second the motion.
Is there any discussion? Now it's time to review the voting procedures for the three pending motions. Under the corporation's bylaws and SEC rules, the election of 13 directors, the advisory vote on executive compensation, and the ratification of the independent registered public accounting firm will be voted by ballot. Most shareholders have already voted. If you previously voted by mail, the Internet, or telephone, there is no need for you to vote again today. Any shareholder who waited and needs to vote now should use the ballot that you received at home. Raise your hand and an usher in a red coat will collect it. You can also obtain a ballot from an usher by raising your hand. The ushers will collect any ballots and give them to the Inspector of Election at the end of the meeting to be included in the final vote count.
I now ask the Inspector of Election to report the results to the meeting.
Mr. Chairman, I report that each of the 13 director nominees was elected to the company's board of directors by a majority of votes cast. The advisory shareholder vote approved the company's executive compensation program, and the majority of votes cast also were in favor of the ratification of the audit committee's appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31st, 2018.
Thank you. I declare that all 13 nominees for director are elected. The company's executive compensation program is approved, and the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2018 is ratified. As I said earlier, today's vote results are preliminary. Final detailed numbers will be filed with the SEC in a Form 8-K in just a few days. Is there any further business to come before this meeting? If not, I will entertain a motion for adjournment.
I so move.
Second.
All in favor say aye.
Aye.
So ordered. I declare this meeting adjourned. That concludes the formal part of the meeting. Now I'd like to talk to you a little bit about how your company's doing. Today's remarks will include some forward-looking statements, and actual results may differ materially. You can find detailed risk factors in our most recent 10-K and also on Corning's website. You should also be aware that we use certain non-GAAP financial measures and performance indicators to assess Corning's financial and operating performance. You can find a reconciliation between GAAP and non-GAAP measures on our website. Now it's my pleasure to report that your company is strong. Since I addressed you last year, we have delivered solid financial results, strengthened Corning's portfolio with strategic acquisitions, and advanced key innovation programs. Most importantly, we have continued to live the values that make Corning such a special company.
Let's begin with a quick review of our financial performance. In 2017, core sales were $10.5 billion, up 8%. Core earnings were $1.8 billion, and core earnings per share were $1.72, up 11% year-over-year. All of our businesses contributed to these outstanding results. On Tuesday, we announced our first quarter results, which provided a solid start to what we expect to be a very strong year. We are investing in capacity to meet demand for our products, and we expect to see the benefits of our investments for growth through the end of 2018 and beyond. Financial results, of course, only tell part of the story. We are extremely excited about our ongoing execution of our strategy and capital allocation framework, which we introduced in 2015. As you know, this is Corning's plan to create significant value for shareholders by focusing our portfolio and leveraging our financial strength.
Under our framework, we expect to generate between $26 billion and $30 billion in cash through 2019. We plan to return more than $12.5 billion to our shareholders through share repurchases and annual dividend increases of at least 10%, and we're making good on that commitment. The framework focuses our portfolio on a set of capabilities with strong interconnections. We are the best in the world in 3 core technologies, 4 manufacturing and engineering platforms, and 5 market access platforms. We direct 80% of our resources to opportunities that draw from at least two of these three capability sets. We believe this approach increases the likelihood of success, reduces the cost of innovation, and creates higher barriers to entry for our competitors. Since introducing the framework, we've reduced outstanding shares by 30%, and we've increased our annual dividend by 50%.
In less than three years, we have returned $10 billion to shareholders. We're also proud of continuing our track record of innovation. Last year, Corning scientists earned more than 560 U.S. patents. That is a new record for us. We advanced key innovation programs across our market access platforms. Here are just a few examples. We increased the adoption of Gorilla Glass 5, which has enabled new smartphone designs with glass on both the front and the back. We captured a new customer opportunity in Gorilla Glass for automotive. We recorded our first commercial sales of gasoline particulate filters, or GPFs, which reduce emissions in gasoline direct injection engines. We introduced Valor Glass, our remarkable new pharmaceutical glass packaging solution that helps protect patients. We supplemented those growth initiatives with strategic acquisitions to strengthen our product portfolio, extend our global reach, and increase our market access.
These acquisitions, combined with research and development and capital spending, are all part of our $10 billion investment to extend our leadership and deliver growth over the long term. In addition, we are undertaking one of the largest expansions in Corning's history. In order to meet the demand for our solutions, we have 23 capital expansion projects underway, including construction of 11 new plants. Last year, we began adding capacity in North Carolina and Poland for Optical Communications products. We're expanding manufacturing in China to produce Gen 10.5 LCD glass and gas particulate filters . In order to produce Valor Glass, we're constructing a new high-volume manufacturing facility in North Carolina, and we're expanding our Big Flats plant. Our investment in Valor Glass will create 500 new U.S. jobs, and 185 of them will be in Big Flats.
It'll also support more than 380 jobs right here in the Southern Tier. We're grateful to have such a dedicated workforce in this community to help bring Valor Glass to the market, where it can help protect patients all around the world. Of course, how we do things is as important as what we achieve. We're proud that we've continued to live Corning's values and honor our commitment to sustainability and good corporate governance. Here are just a few highlights from the past year, starting with our effective energy management strategy to help protect this planet that we all share. Over the past decade, we've increased our energy efficiency by more than 36%. Our continuous improvement earned Corning the prestigious Sustained Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the past three years.
A couple of weeks ago, we were named an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for the fifth consecutive year. As you all know, Corning is committed to strengthening the communities where we live and work by investing in education, cultural programs, health and human services, and economic development. Our people are also generous with their time and talent. Here are some of the ways they made a difference in 2017. They volunteered at nursing homes and hospices. They led mentoring and training programs, and they participated in blood drives, donated to food pantries, and held other fundraising events to help people in need. I can't possibly list every example, but when you look at all the ways that our people made a difference last year, it's stunning.
When you add all that up, I think you'll agree that Corning is not only a company that delivers strong results, but also one you can be proud of. Let's look at the opportunities that are in front of us in our market access platforms. In Optical Communications, we are the only true end-to-end supplier of optical solutions, and we are continuing to innovate for the rapidly evolving applications of fiber to the home, hyperscale data centers, and in-building networks. We are growing at more than twice the rate of the communications infrastructure market, and we are confident in our ability to reach our goal of $5 billion in annual sales by 2020. You're going to hear more about this from Mike Bell in today's special presentation.
In mobile consumer electronics, we continue making progress on our goal to double sales over the next several years by delivering best-in-class products, capturing more value per device, winning share in new markets, and innovating for new product categories such as augmented reality. In display, we expect to maintain stable returns due to our strong share position, low-cost manufacturing, and more favorable pricing environment. We also continue to leverage our fusion assets, glass science, and optical physics to take those capabilities and drive the next round of display innovations. These include better images, ubiquitous touch, and new form factors. In automotive, Corning is benefiting from the industry's trend to cleaner, safer, and more connected cars. First, we're building on our leadership in clean air technology with a new business for gasoline particulate filters. We expect the sales of GPFs to ramp quickly, driven by new regulations in Europe and China.
We believe this could be a half a billion-dollar new business for Corning. Second, we are building capacity to supply Gorilla Glass for automotive. More customers are recognizing the potential of Gorilla Glass to reduce vehicle weight, increase fuel efficiency, and transform car interiors through tough, beautiful interactive displays. While our current sales are small, we believe the opportunity is large. Finally, in life science vessels, we're building on our leadership positions in solutions for cell culture, bioprocessing, cell therapy, and genomics. We're in the process of building a long-term, multi-billion-dollar business in Valor Glass. Although this industry moves at a deliberate pace, we believe this innovation has the potential to power Corning's growth for the next decade and beyond. As you can see, we've got a robust set of near-term and long-term growth opportunities, and our opportunities are balanced.
Optical solutions, Gorilla Glass, and GPFs are driving growth in the near term, while Valor Glass and Gorilla Glass for automotive have the potential to drive growth long term. Furthermore, our customers believe in us and our opportunities. As you saw in our opening video, industry leaders like Apple, Verizon, Merck, and Pfizer continue to turn to us to solve problems and help realize their own visions. We are confident in Corning's ability to deliver sustainable growth. We're also confident that we can continue doing what Corning does best, transforming industries, enhancing people's lives, and delivering innovations that create value for decades. In closing, I want to underscore our commitment to earning your trust every day with our performance and our actions.
All of us on the management committee know that it is a privilege as well as a responsibility to lead this great institution, to build on the hard work of those who came before us, and ensure that we leave the company in good shape for those who follow in our footsteps. Corning has succeeded for more than 165 years because its leaders always take the long view. We manage not just for each year, but for another 165 years of innovation and independence. That means capturing opportunities in today's businesses while investing to create tomorrow's growth drivers. It means making strategic choices to ensure sustainable success in a very competitive global marketplace. It means living our values in order to continually make Corning a better version of itself. We hope you share our pride in the company's achievements and our excitement about the future.
Thank you for being on this journey with us. Thank you all. Now, I hope my remarks address some of the topics on your mind. As I noted earlier, company officers will be available to answer any questions you have in the lobby following Mike Bell's presentation. However, if you're not able to stay, please feel free to ask your question now. Please, sir.
Could Corning please take any actions with tax cuts and what will you be doing with the revenue and so forth?
Your question is, with the advent of new U.S. tax policy and the reduction in tax rates in the U.S., what are we doing with that money? Right? That's an excellent question. That is all part of our $10 billion investment in our R&D, our capital expansion projects, and acquisitions. We had that plan before the tax cuts, right? We're going to continue to execute on that. What we're able to do, though, is more efficiently move some of the money between overseas locations and the U.S., so it certainly makes that investment a lot easier. I think more importantly for us, it increases the long-term value of manufacturing in the U.S.
We've always been a strong manufacturer here, it's really, I think, a good thing that now it's a more competitive tax base so that we're not penalized for choosing to manufacture our product where our customers are. Other questions? If not, I'd like to thank you again for joining us today. Please stay seated for Mike's presentation, which will begin shortly. Have a wonderful day.
Now please welcome Senior Vice President and General Manager of Optical Connectivity Solutions, Mike Bell.
Good morning.
Good morning.
I'm Mike Bell, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Optical Connectivity Solutions Division. We're responsible for developing solutions for all the different applications where we use optical fiber, like fiber to the home, data centers, and in building networks. I'm in my 27th year with Corning, following five years of serving our country as a submarine warfare officer. My entire Corning career has been spent in Optical Communications, headquartered in North Carolina, in operations, product line, and general management. Today, I'm proud to share what's happening in the Corning Optical Communications sector, a significant contributor to Corning's overall growth. Imagine you're in your living room on a typical evening at home with your family. At my house, the TV may be on, but my wife is probably on Facebook, my son is surfing Reddit, and my daughter-in-law is creating a new Snapchat story.
Everyone is a power user, and this continues to drive ever more bandwidth demand. In fact, global internet traffic is growing at 20% per year, and over 70% of that traffic is video. Netflix and YouTube make up 50% of peak-hour usage. This causes two problems for network providers like Spectrum or Verizon. First, peak-hour usage is getting much bigger than average usage. Second, these stressed networks have to carry much higher bandwidth the whole way to users at the edge of the network. Because of all of our multitasking and online gaming and the addition of all kinds of network gadgets like Nest Thermostats or Ring video doorbells, connected devices will grow from 15 to 27 billion by 2021, or the equivalent of three devices for every person on earth. If increasing video and connected devices weren't enough, we're also demanding all this bandwidth as we move around.
Mobile devices will pass six devices, consuming 60% of all internet traffic by 2021. That means that network operators have to build networks for where people live and for where we happen to be anytime during the day. Network operators are challenged to keep pace with all that video, connected devices, and mobility, and we feel it. Have you ever had a good signal but couldn't send a text message? How about trying to use Waze or Google Maps, but not getting a network signal? Imagine being 80% finished downloading a file, but still having one hour and 21 minutes left to wait. Or trying to watch a movie on your Apple TV and seeing it'll be ready to play in just 26 hours and 27 minutes. All these things lead to one conclusion. We need more fiber. Let me explain why.
We'll use a model we call the electrical-to-optical divide. This describes the point where the economics of carrying photons over fiber outweigh the economics of carrying electronics over copper. We start by looking at how much bandwidth is needed for a particular application, measured in gigabits per second, which we call data rate. Next, we look at the distance that data must travel in meters, which we call link length. When we multiply the data rate by the link length, we see that if the product is greater than 100 gigabit meters per second, fiber is best fit to carry that demand. This has been validated by all of our customers and virtually every industry standard for the past 40 years. Let's look at a few specific examples of where the networks are stressed. Since mobility is growing, network operators will be starting to deploy 5G networks.
These new networks will have to carry much higher data rates, up to 10 gigabits per second, over a distance of 1 kilometer. We see that fiber will be necessary to meet that need. With all the growth in video and mobility, data stored in data centers will grow 5x, and traffic within that data center will grow 3x by 2021. This will require higher data rates and longer link lengths between data center racks and buildings. Connections from the top of the data center rack to each of the computers within that rack will continue to grow in data rate from 10 to 40 to 100 gigabits per second and beyond. As this happens, these connections will become optical. At the end of the day, it just doesn't matter whether you're deploying 5G or building a data center. Copper will no longer economically meet these needs.
This means we need fiber, and we need more of it. Let's look a little more closely at these two applications. First, cellular networks require fiber to carry data to and from the antenna. To drive higher bandwidth for each user, wireless operators will install more antennas, so fewer people will share each antenna. That's why 5G, with its higher data rates, will require at least 10 times more fiber than legacy cellular networks. To handle all that video and computing power needed in the future, data center operators will shift from traditional three-tier architectures to large scale or hyperscale spine and leaf architectures. This allows shorter paths for computers to talk to each other, creating much faster response times. These new data centers will require at least five times more fiber and connections than traditional data centers.
All this new demand for fiber is super exciting for all of us because Corning has the best optical solutions. Let's take a look. In 1970, we invented the first low-loss optical fiber. We enjoy the number one global fiber position. Just last year, we produced the one billionth fiber kilometer, enough fiber to wrap the Earth 25,000 times. We invented the first loose tube optical cable. We enjoy the number one global cable position. Earlier this year, we introduced our 3,456 fiber RocketRibbon extreme density cable designed to connect these hyperscale data center buildings much faster. We invented the first hardened outside plant connector, the OptiTap, which made connecting fibers as easy as plugging cable into the back of your TV. We enjoy the number one global fiber-to-the-home position, and we've adapted our proprietary FlexNAP solution for wireline and wireless networks.
We invented the first modular data center solution. We enjoy the number one global data center position, and last year, we received multiple data center product of the year awards for our EDGE8 solution. In addition to all this organic fuel for growth, we're adding two key strategic acquisitions. We evaluate companies to acquire based on two objectives. First, expanding market access, and second, growing our product portfolio with new technologies. Over the past year, we've had an example of each I'd like to walk you through. Corning plans to buy a significant portion of 3M Communication Markets Division later this year. This will add significant new market access in Europe and Latin America.
Last year, we purchased SpiderCloud Wireless, adding new small cell products and a unique signal source technology, the only one of its kind, approved at all U.S. major wireless carriers and international carriers like Vodafone and América Móvil. We're using all these capabilities to co-innovate with our customers. Let me start with the SpiderCloud example. Last December, Sprint announced the availability of a new small cell solution from SpiderCloud as part of its strategy to densify its network and improve service at enterprises and public venues across the country. To quote Robert Kingsley, Director of Small Cell and Wi-Fi Development at Sprint, quote, "This innovative LTE small cell literally clips onto existing Cisco Wi-Fi infrastructure and can be deployed in less than 30 minutes, providing a very cost-effective way to rapidly improve indoor service." Unquote. AT&T has announced their plan to deliver one gigabit service to residential customers.
They're in the process of building an ultra-fast fiber-to-the-home platform, Corning is helping build this 100% optical network, which will reach more than 12 million homes in 75 of the largest cities across the U.S. We're seeing these large-scale deployments overseas as well. For example, Saudi Telecom is part of a nationwide fiber-to-the-home build that will connect more than 1 million households. To demonstrate the value AT&T sees in our FlexNAP access solution, we filmed a side-by-side comparison of FlexNAP versus spliced terminal deployment speed. First, you can see the FlexNAP solution is much cleaner and simpler than traditional splice. The FlexNAP cables are installed exactly the same way we install a typical distribution cable. You can see the access point now passing over the pulley, the tether, and now a multi-fiber connector.
Passes through the lashing machine to be connected to the messenger, just like a cable would. Then we install a multi-port terminal for connecting each of the users to the pole. The final step is simply to plug in that multi-fiber connector to the FlexNAP, and it's ready for service. In the meantime, in the spliced scenario, we're accessing the cable, installing the cable into the splice closure, routing all these fiber subunits, adding the tether to connect to a terminal, accessing that cable, picking out the two fiber subunits that'll be spliced together and put into a splice housing. We've already completed our second FlexNAP terminal deployment. Then we go through the painstaking field splice process of connecting each fiber to each other. As they're splicing, the third FlexNAP terminal has already been deployed.
Removing coating, cleaning the fibers, and splicing each one. About that time, the fourth FlexNAP terminal has been deployed. That splice closure finally comes out of the van. It is taken up on the bucket truck, attached to the messenger, and the first splice terminal is placed after five FlexNAP terminals have already been installed. As you saw, our FlexNAP solution is five times faster to install. Now the technician is going to take that famous OptiTap connector and plug it in just as easily as you would plug a cable into the back of your TV, screw it in place, and then provide service to a business or a residential customer. Our FlexNAP access solution is five times faster to install than splice solutions, and we saved AT&T 15% in first installed cost. Let's talk about a data center example.
As data rates within computers grow from 40 to 100 gigabits per second and beyond, these connections will become optical. In anticipation of this, we are reapplying Corning's expertise in fusion glass manufacturing and optical physics technology to develop the fiber to chip connections necessary. You may know that Microsoft is also working on this challenge today. They're leading a consortium to develop optical modules that can be mounted in a device to decrease power consumption and increase bandwidth density. I'm sure you've heard, last April, Verizon announced a three-year agreement to purchase more than $1 billion of gear from Corning. In an interview with CNBC, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said that, "Fiber is the cornerstone building block of our next generation network." You don't have to believe me. Let's listen to the words of Mr. McAdam himself.
Welcome back to Squawk on the Street. I'm David Faber at the Nasdaq market site with two guests this morning. Lowell McAdam is the chairman and CEO of Verizon. Wendell Weeks, the chairman and CEO of Corning. The two companies announcing this morning a new pact under which Verizon has agreed to pay $1.05 billion for a three-year minimum purchase agreement with Corning for the next generation of what they call optical solutions. What does that mean? Well, it means an awful lot of fiber to help improve Verizon's 4G LTE coverage and perhaps most importantly, speed the deployment of 5G services. That's what we're here to talk about in part, gentlemen. Thanks for being here.
Yeah, good morning.
Why are you buying all this fiber?
Well, David, we viewed fiber as the cornerstone building block for the next generation network. That network is going to look very different than what we've built in the past. If you look at 2G and third generation and fourth generation of wireless, it was about capacity and throughput. Fifth generation is about those things. We're going to see 100 times faster throughput, we're going to see things like latency of a network that the network will go out and come back and respond in less than the time it takes to blink your eye. We're going to see 10 times the battery life that we've seen in the past. That opens up a whole new set of applications for consumers and enterprise, you can't do it if you don't have fiber deep into the network compared to what we've done in the past.
Right.
We know that growing demand for video, connected devices, and mobility will drive even higher internet traffic. Network operators will turn to fiber instead of copper to build their networks, these new networks will take five to 10 times more fiber than those of the past. Corning is the best at optical solutions, we co-innovate with our customers to meet their needs. That's why Corning Optical Communications will grow double digits in 2018 and achieve $5 billion by 2020. Corning has delivered for power users for the past 167 years. Corning will continue to deliver for power users in the future. Thank you.
Thank you for attending Corning's annual meeting. On your way out, don't forget to pick up a handout with a Chamber of Commerce gift card. If you'd like to dine here for lunch today, the gift card is accepted in the museum's cafe. Thank you.