Draka® Begins North American Production of BendBright-XS™
FTTH deployments of major telecommunications carriers prompts production of industry leading bend-insensitive fiber in Claremont, NC facility
 FTTH Conference, Nashville, September 19, 2008 -- Draka Communications, a global leader in the optical fiber industry, today announced that it will begin production of BendBright-XS, its industry-leading bend-insensitive optical fiber, at its Claremont, North Carolina manufacturing facility. The decision to manufacture BendBright-XS at Draka’s flagship optical fiber production facility is intended to best serve the growing demand for bend-insensitive fibers in North America.
This press release echoes announcement by Draka, that BendBright-XS sales exceeded the 250,000 km mark, worldwide. The demand for BendBright-XS in North America has been driven mainly by large scale deployments of FTTH access networks by the major telecommunications providers. With these access networks extending all the way to single family homes and more recently multi-dwelling units (MDUs), the need has surfaced for a robust, easy-to-install optical fiber that can endure the rigors of traditional copper cable installations. BendBright-XS answers these rapidly emerging market demands with its patented design, yet does not have the technical complications, such as splicing and connectorization, of other bend-insensitive fibers recently introduced into the market.
“Since we first introduced BendBright-XS at the FTTH Conference in 2006, the demand for this industry-leading fiber has grown by leaps and bounds”, says Ryan Chappell, Draka’s North American Fiber Business Manager.
“In 2008, the volumes of BendBright-XS have become so significant that it only makes sense to have local production of the product to best serve the North American market” said Steve Linden, Director of Operations, North America.
BendBright-XS, which has been commercially available for over two years, uses a “trench-assisted” index profile to achieve the highest level of bend performance on the market and meets the most stringent industry standard for bend-insensitive fiber — ITU-T G.657.B. With approximately 100x microbending and 100x macro bending performance improvement over standard singlemode fiber, BendBright-XS is ideal for access networks where cables and fibers are subjected to tight bends and the rigors of harsh installation techniques such as the stapling of cables. BendBright-XS is also unique because it is the first and only commercially available all-glass fiber on the market that meets and exceeds the stringent ITU-T G.657.B bending requirements, yet maintains full backwards compatibility with existing singlemode fibers, meeting ITU-T G.652.D.
Draka Communications introduced the first generation bend-insensitive fiber, BendBright, in 2002. Updated in 2005 to conform to low water peak standards, G.652.D, BendBright is a G.657.A fiber, with approximately 10x bending improvement over standard singlemode fiber. The success of BendBright fiber is highlighted by the AT&T award “2005 Supplier Innovator of the Year”, given to Draka for FTTH drop cable based on BendBright fiber. The second generation bend-insensitive fiber BendBright-XS, a G.657.B fiber with approximately 100x bending improvement over standard singlemode fiber, was introduced in 2006.
About Draka Communications
Draka, headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is a $4 billion, publicly listed (Euronext) company with 9,145 employees worldwide. Draka is divided into three groups: Energy & Infrastructure, Industry & Specialty and Communications. Communications is responsible for the production and sale of optical fiber, cable and communication infrastructure solutions globally. Draka Communications – Americas’ roots in North America run a century deep in names like Alcatel, ITT, Ericsson, Chromatic Technologies, and Phelps Dodge. Our clients are served from Draka's unique site in Claremont, North Carolina which is home to the 125-acre corporate campus & Americas headquarters, over 1 million square feet of manufacturing space and the only integrated optical fiber and cable facility in North America. For more information please visit http://www.drakaamericas.com.
Draka Communications - Americas Media Contact
Kim Hudson, Marketing Communications Manager
Phone: 828.459.8443
Fax: 828.459.8444
Kim.Hudson@draka.com
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