Verizon has struggled with installing FiOS in apartment complexes and MDUs (multiple dwelling units) -- where a fifth of their customers live. Given that traditional fiber can't be bent without signal degredation, installs in and around apartment buildings and condos have proven tricky. Next year they'll be helped by a recent invention at Corning: bendable fiber.

Dubbed Clearcurve, Corning's solution infuses the cladding that surrounds the fiber's narrow core with nanostructures. Those nanostructures act as light guardrails. The result is fiber optic cable capable of transmitting at 25 trillion bits per second, that can even be wound into tight loops without degrading connectivity.

Obviously this is a huge boon to FTTH carriers like Verizon, who'll be able to snake fiber in and around a house to their heart's delight. Verizon worked with Corning during trials and has plans to deploy the technology shortly, but a company by the name of Connexion Technologies this week became the first Clearcurve customer.

According to Connexion, a Flordia FTTH installer, the bendable fiber was a time and money saver when it came to MDU installs. "During our field trials, we saw firsthand the ease and speed of installation of the ClearCurve Drop Cable," says company founder Glen Lang. "With this technology, we were able to realize at least a 30-percent time savings, in addition to material savings such as ducts."

This demonstration video from the Corning website is worth watching.