RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, a leading manufacturer of fiber optic cable, fiber management systems, fusion equipment, and interconnect solutions for the telecommunications marketplace, announced today the introduction of the industry's first 864 fiber, all dielectric ribbon cable with 36 fiber ribbons. Sumitomo, the company that first introduced peelable ribbon fiber to the U.S, developed its LitePipe(tm) Ribbon All-Dielectric 864 fiber cable in response to the industry's growing need for high-density, high-bandwidth solutions. Within less than a 1 inch diameter, the Sumitomo 864 cable offers a higher fiber packing density than ribbon-in-loose-tube 864 fiber constructions - allowing the cable to fit within existing 1 1/4 inch duct space used in most optical network infrastructures. The primary feature of the cable lies in the quality and patented design of the Sumitomo ribbon of which it is comprised. The cable fibers can be peeled and handled easily without use of chemicals to remove the fiber matrix. The 36-fiber ribbon can be split easily into 12-fiber ribbon sub-units for mass splicing. Furthermore, each 12-fiber ribbon can be peeled to access individual fibers for single-fusion splicing, offering the user maximum flexibility.In a separate release:Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, a leading manufacturer of fiber optic cable, interconnect solutions, and fusion equipment for the telecommunications marketplace, announced today the launch of its Fiber Routing Control (FRC)(tm) system and related products that maximize easy installation and lower costs for fiber management and distribution. Sumitomo's patented FRC system features central waterfall slots in its rack-mounted, high-density TSX(tm) shelves. The shelves come in 144 and 72 fiber count shelves. The shelves' FRC system eases installation and extraction of patch cords for rerouting and troubleshooting for a cost-effective solution for today's high-density requirements. Sumitomo's TSX-144 shelf was the first to pass high-density OC-192 testing at Telcordia. Sumitomo has introduced two ribbon-configured bay assembly options. The first contains shelves - ranging in a variety of sizes - with ribbon fiber that are labeled and routed to a 7-inch splice shelf. All that is required to make the bay operational is to splice cable at the splice shelf. The second option can be a fully loaded bay assembly with pre-terminated cable stubs. Cable placement and attachment to another bay or splice closure is all that is necessary for full installation. Sumitomo Electric Lightwave