OFS ANNOUNCES FIRST COMPREHENSIVE BEND-OPTIMIZED CABLE ASSEMBLY OFFER

AllWave® FLEX Zero Water Peak (ZWP) Fiber is now Standard in OFS Jumpers and Connectorized Cable Assemblies

OFC/NFOEC 2007, Booth 1711, Anaheim, CA, March 27, 2007 – OFS, designer, manufacturer, and supplier of leading-edge fiber optic products and solutions, announced today that its bend-optimized AllWave FLEX  Zero Water Peak (ZWP) single-mode fiber is the standard  fiber used in its cable assembly offering of jumpers and connectorized cables.  AllWave FLEX ZWP fiber is the first ZWP G.652D and G.657A compliant fiber to provide outstanding bend performance for Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTx), enterprise networks, or other  applications where small bend diameters may be encountered. It maintains very low bending loss across the full usable spectrum of wavelengths from 1260 to 1625 nm and offers five to fifty times better bending performance of conventional single-mode fibers. 

For FTTx applications, AllWave FLEX ZWP cable assemblies can improve service reliability by reducing optical loss in the tight bends that usually abound in conventional optical access networks. “Video services operating at the bending loss sensitive wavelengths of 1490, 1550, and eventually 1625 nm, are probably the most vulnerable applications in a conventional fiber network,” said Bill Kloss, President of the North American Cable and Connectivity Divisions at OFS. “AllWave FLEX cable assemblies help improve these critical services by reducing bending loss by 5 to 50 times compared to conventional single-mode fibers, and enable better service reliability, which can increase subscriber satisfaction and retention, and revenue opportunities,” Mr. Kloss added.

AllWave FLEX ZWP cable assemblies offer remarkable advantages for demanding applications, compared to conventional single-mode fibers:
* More compact, easy-to-use connectivity products - AllWave FLEX ZWP cable assemblies require less space for installation and maintenance, helping to lower installation costs and speed deployment.
* Improved application performance and/or lower electronics costs – low “optimized bending” loss and ZWP low loss across the full spectrum can help applications perform better and require less costly electronics.
* Increased reliability and uptime – AllWave FLEX ZWP fiber’s pure, inclusion free synthetic silica glass can improve service reliability and identify dangerous bends during normal field testing. AllWave FLEX cable assemblies are engineered to have just enough bending loss to identify super tight risky bends (<7.5mm radius) during normal network testing. These dangerous bends can be located and mitigated prior to provisioning to help avoid service disruptions.
* Fully backward and standards compatible – AllWave FLEX ZWP fiber meets ITU-T G.652.D recommendation, and is superior to and compliant with the new G.657A recommendation for bend insensitive fiber.
* Full splice compatibility - Cable assemblies featuring AllWave FLEX ZWP fiber can be spliced with standard G.652 single-mode fibers –  with standard splice programs.
* Fast and easy installation– Its simple yet innovative fiber design allows for low loss fusion splicing and testing with standard settings, and supports one-way OTDR testing.
 
Products using AllWave FLEX cordage or cable as the standard offer include connectorized cable assemblies,  preterminated shelf assemblies, combination splice termination units, and standard jumpers with all available connector types. AllWave FLEX ZWP fiber is also the standard in all Access ADVANTAGETM System FTTx products and components including those used in the ORBITALTM fiber distribution cabinet. The company continues to offer cable assembly products with AllWave ZWP fiber for specific market applications and customer requests.

Visitors at OFS’ OFC/NFOEC 2007 booth 1711 will be able to compare the performance of AllWave FLEX ZWP fiber to other conventional single-mode fibers.

About OFS

OFS is a designer, manufacturer, and supplier of leading edge optical fiber, optical fiber cable, FTTx, optical connectivity and specialty photonics products and solutions for the widest variety of applications and industries. OFS, formerly the optical fiber solutions division of Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LU), has a proven track record of being first in the industry with application specific fibers, optical connectors, ribbon cables, erbium doped fibers, Raman fiber lasers and more. OFS is committed to providing customers increased value by offering products that deliver lowest cost-per-bit network solutions, protecting investments through flexible solutions for today’s demanding applications.

OFS distributes its optical fiber, optical fiber cable, optical connectivity and specialty photonics products directly to end users, as well as through valued distributors, external cable customers and equipment vendors.

OFS is owned by Furukawa Electric, a multi-billion dollar global leader in optical communications. Headquartered in Norcross, GA, OFS operates facilities in Avon, Connecticut; Carrollton, Georgia; Somerset, New Jersey; and Sturbridge, Massachusetts, as well as in Denmark, Germany and Russia.

For more information, please visit www.ofsoptics.com.

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PR Contact:

Fernando Costantino
Marketing Communications Manager
OFS
Phone 770-798-2729
Cell phone 404-441-1076
fcostantino@ofsoptics.com