CommScope’s GroundSmart Solution is a Top Product in 2011, Says Wire and Cable Technology International

February 14, 2012 HICKORY, N.C.

CommScope’s GroundSmart® Copper Clad Steel solution, a copper-alternative grounding wire known for its cost-efficiency and anti-theft characteristics, was named to Wire and Cable Technology International Magazine’s list of Top Products for 2011.

“We applaud the product development efforts of the winning companies, such as CommScope, for offering products that improve the way that wire and cable is made, processed and used,” said Mike McNulty, vice president and editor, Wire & Cable Technology International.

GroundSmart Copper Clad Steel provides a safe, highly reliable alternative to the use of solid and stranded copper for grounding applications. GroundSmart Copper Clad Steel is specifically designed to disperse fault currents and lightning strikes at a lower total cost of ownership compared to pure copper.

GroundSmart Copper Clad Steel is an electrical conductor that has an outer sleeve of copper metallurgically bonded to a solid steel core. As an alternative to solid and stranded copper, it is increasingly in demand by utilities and communications network operators.

“As copper theft continues to grow as a global problem and copper raw material costs increase, the use of Copper Clad Steel alternatives have gained acceptance in more applications,” said Doug Wells, vice president, Outside Plant Solutions, Broadband, CommScope. “As a global leader in infrastructure solutions for communication networks, CommScope has been manufacturing copper-alternative solutions for various industries for nearly 30 years. We thank the staff of Wire and Cable Technology for this honor.”

Copper theft has become such an issue that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a warning stating that copper theft is a threat to critical homeland infrastructure. In a 2009 survey published by the Electrical Safety Foundation International, utilities in the United States reported approximately $60 million in losses and 450,000 minutes of outage time annually because of copper theft.

GroundSmart Copper Clad Steel and Copper Clad Aluminum benefit from a specialized CommScope BiMetals® technology and manufacturing process. The products are created by bonding different metals into a single conductor, resulting in a low-cost lower risk alternative to using solid copper. This unique solution is produced at the CommScope facility in Statesville, NC, that is ISO 9001 and ISO 14000 registered.

The complete list of Top Products for 2011, which were chosen by the magazine’s editorial staff, was published in the January-February 2012 issue.

GroundSmart and CommScope BiMetals are registered trademarks of CommScope, Inc.

About CommScope

CommScope (www.commscope.com) has played a role in virtually all the world’s best communication networks. We create the infrastructure that connects people and technologies through every evolution. Our portfolio of end-to-end solutions includes critical infrastructure our customers need to build high-performing wired and wireless networks. As much as technology changes, our goal remains the same: to help our customers create, innovate, design, and build faster and better. We’ll never stop connecting and evolving networks for the business of life at home, at work, and on the go.

This press release includes forward-looking statements that are based on information currently available to management, management’s beliefs, as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results to differ materially from those currently expected. In providing forward-looking statements, the company does not intend, and is not undertaking any obligation or duty, to update these statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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News Media Contact:
Joseph P. Depa III, CommScope
+1 828-431-9803 or publicrelations@commscope.com
Financial Contact:
Phil Armstrong, CommScope
+1 828-323-4848