With Writedown, Corning Joins Ranks of Telco Realists

Updated from 4:20 p.m. EDT:

Corning (GLW Quote) acknowledged Monday what the rest of communications network investment community has known for several months now: New long-distance Internet construction has ground to a halt.

Talking to analysts on a conference call Monday afternoon, Corning executives recounted a now familiar story of confronting an abrupt and "unprecedented" industry downturn just as the company had completed a vast production-capacity expansion. Cisco (CSCO Quote), for one, told a similar tale a couple months ago. ...