OFS ULTRAWAVE® FIBER SPANS PACIFIC…AGAIN

OFC/ NFOEC 2008, Booth 1835, San Diego, CA, February 26, 2008 —  OFS UltraWave fiber has once again demonstrated the capability for spanning trans-Pacific and other long distance submarine routes with DWDM systems operating at 10 Gb/s.  In the past year the unique capabilities of this dispersion slope matched design have been put to use in several new long distance submarine projects in various regions of the globe.

To accomplish this, two OFS fiber types, UltraWave SLA fiber and UltraWave IDF^TM fiber, are judiciously combined via high strength splicing in specific lengths between optical repeaters.  This combination provides key advantages for ultra long haul systems with optical repeaters.  The large mode field of the UltraWave SLA fiber permits high optical powers to be launched while the negative dispersion slope of the UltraWave IDF fiber cancels dispersion of the UltraWave SLA fiber.  Exacting control of the length combination of these two fiber types results in an optimum dispersion map across a wide spectral range near 1550 nm.  The result: a system that can transmit multi-Tera-bit transmission rates across the Pacific without regeneration or discrete dispersion compensation.

The UltraWave fiber design was initially deployed in 2000 to construct a trans Pacific cable between the US mainland and Japan that could support 2.56 Tb/s of capacity.  Its superb technical performance in that system, along with on-going performance enhancements, make it the clear choice for all new trans-Pacific projects as well as other select long distance routes.

OFS submarine technology is based upon a long history of developing and manufacturing fibers for submarine systems.  Beginning with the first trans-Atlantic crossing in 1988 (TAT-8) it has been used for many of the subsequent Atlantic and Pacific crossings as well as numerous repeatered and unrepeatered shallow water crossings.  OFS now offers and supplies seven distinct submarine fiber designs that cover all applications. 

About OFS

OFS is a world-leading designer, manufacturer and provider of optical fiber, optical fiber cable, FTTX, optical connectivity and specialty photonics products.  Our manufacturing and research divisions work together to provide innovative products and solutions that traverse many different applications as they link people and machines anywhere in the world. Between continents, between cities, around neighborhoods, and into homes and businesses of digital consumers we provide the right optical fiber, optical cable and components for efficient, cost-effective transmission.
 
OFS’ corporate lineage dates back to 1876 and included technology powerhouses such as AT&T (NYSE: T) and Lucent Technologies, (now Alcatel-Lucent, NYSE: ALU). Today, OFS is owned by Furukawa Electric, a multi-billion dollar global leader in optical communications. 

Headquartered in Norcross (near Atlanta, Georgia), U.S., OFS is a global provider with 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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CONTACTS:

Sherry Salyer      
OFS Public Relations      
shsalyer@ofsoptics.com     
Direct:  770-798-4210 
Mobile: 678-296-7034    

Don Jablonowski
OFS
djablonowski@ofsoptics.com

Tom Davis
OFS
thomasdavis@ofsoptics.com