OFS GAINS RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE (RUS) PROGRAM LISTING FOR FIBER OPTIC CABLES

Norcross, GA, U.S.A., June 05, 2006 – OFS, designer, manufacturer, and supplier of leading edge fiber optic products, announced today that six of its high-performance fiber optic cables have been accepted for listing by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS), now called the Rural Development Utilities Program (RDUP). 

The cables accepted for listing are OFS’ totally dry ribbon AccuRibbon® DC, LightPack® Mini LXE, AccuRibbon® LXE, and LightPack® Dielectric Drop Cables, along with the company’s new Mini LT and Toneable Mini LT Flat Drop Cables. 

“This RUS listing reinforces our commitment to rural service providers and their continued success in broadband and fiber-to-the-premise (FTTx) initiatives,” said Bill Kloss, President of the FTTx, Cable, and Connectivity Divisions of OFS.   “OFS’ comprehensive fiber optic portfolio offers cost-effective solutions providing access to these services not only to customers in highly-connected metropolitan areas, but also to those in more remote geographical areas,” Mr. Kloss added.

Inclusion on the RUS List of Materials means that qualifying rural telephone companies, utilities, and municipalities may purchase products with long-term, low-interest loans funded by the United States government.  The loan program is designed to control costs, enabling customers in rural areas to have access to the same services as those offered by the larger regional and national service providers.

The newly listed cables join a variety of OFS optical solutions and products that have previously been approved by RUS for inclusion in the RUS List of Materials, such as the totally dry loose tube Fortex™ DT Cables and the PowerGuide® family of All-Dielectric, Self-Supporting (ADSS) Cables.  OFS now offers RUS customers a “total dry solution”, featuring dry fiber (with zero water peak) in dry cable (with no oil, gel, or flooding compounds to block water penetration in the cables’ sheath or core).

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 a wide 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, FTTx, optical connectivity and specialty photonics products and solutions 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.

###

Contact:
OFS
Laura Werner
Marketing Communications Manager
Phone 770.838.5344