BALTIMORE – NFOEC – Blue Sky Research, a privately helddeveloper and manufacturer of optical network components, today announced atthe National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference (NFOEC) that testing of itsProgrammable ITU Laser is confirming design criteria, and exceeds theperformance of other available tunable laser transmitters. Furthermore, itoffers the best combination of performance, output power, tuning speed, andtuning range in a compact package. And finally, cost is estimated to be verycompetitive.Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) networks are transforming thetelecommunications industry, and tunable lasers are crucial to meeting theever-increasing demand for broadband services. While single wavelengthlasers are the conventional choice for laser transmitters, estimates byglobal industry market research and consulting firm, Ryan, Hankin, Kent(RHK) suggest that 80% of continuous wave sources will be tunable by the endof 2002. Furthermore, RHK estimates the market for laser transmitters togrow from $2 billion in 2000 to approximately $7 billion by 2004."This is a sheer breakthrough," said Dan Hu, president and CEO of Blue SkyResearch. "With the company's proprietary, all electro-optical tuningmechanism, Blue Sky Research has achieved building the ideal tunablelaser -- speed, power, bandwidth, and size. I cheer for our engineeringinnovation, and am thankful that we no longer have to rely on earliermechanical tuning elements or grating structures, like other companies."Blue Sky ResearchFor more information on NFOEC, please visit the Light Reading NFOEC Site.