OFS ANNOUNCES EZ-BEND® TECHOLOGY FIBER MEETS NEW ITU 5 MILLIMETER FIBER BEND RADIUS STANDARD

NORCROSS, Georgia, October 19, 2009 - OFS, designer, manufacturer and supplier of leading edge fiber optic network products, today announced that its EZ-Bend^® Technology fiber meets the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) 5mm bend radius fiber category to address the need for efficiently routing optical drop cables inside homes and Multiple Dwelling Units (MDUs). 

Indoor optical drop cables using conventional bend insensitive fibers may exhibit excessive bending loss when installed using desired fast and easy methods.  The new category, known as G.657B3, was created in recognition that the existing 7.5mm bend radius requirement previously described as category G.657B does not offer sufficient bending performance to support residence optical drop cables without the need for bulky, expensive conduits and bend limiting devices.

“OFS’ EZ-Bend Technology fiber exceeds the requirements of the new G.657B3 standard by offering lower bending loss than described in the standard, while being fully compatible with standard G.652D fibers, splicing, and connector assembly processes and equipment,“ said John George, Director of Systems and Applications Engineering, at OFS. “Inside the proper cable structure, EZ-Bend Technology fiber enables fast and easy installation of indoor drop cabling without extra hardware using stapling to make the critical last optical link to the customer” he added.

About EZ-Bend^® Technology
OFS’ patent pending EZ-Bend Technology is the first to provide <0.1 dB per 5 mm radius turn bending loss performance at 1550 nm using a solid glass fiber construction, while being fully splice and performance compatible with typical installed fibers for drop applications. The solid glass construction of EZ-Bend Technology fiber enables the use of conventional fusion splicing equipment, conventional connector mounting, conventional connector cleaning processes, and avoids the compatibility pitfalls of hole assisted and nano-structured fibers.  A robust optical cable design helps protect the optical fiber from being kinked or crushed.

OFS recently announced that Verizon has selected its EZ-Bend Technology drop cables to support MDU FIOS deployments.

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 worldwide. 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 and Lucent Technologies. 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       
770-798-4210