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Amsterdam, November 5, 2007

Draka Comteq, a pioneer in optical fiber technology, today announces that its latest innovation in fiber coating technology, ColorLock^®XS, will be available on Draka Comteq's flagship bend-insensitive fiber, BendBright^®XS in January 2008.  BendBright^XS, the first true bend-insensitive fiber introduced to the market in 2006, has gained significant momentum in the marketplace because it meets the most stringent fiber bending standards while still maintaining backwards compatibility with existing fiber infrastructure.

The newest enhancement, ColorLock^XS, improves fiber microbending performance as well as strip-ability, while adding new vibrant colors integrated into the fiber coating. Unlike other fibers recently introduced to the market, BendBright^XS is an all-glass fiber using proven and industry accepted materials and technology, eliminating splicing concerns or special procedures needed to connectorize the fiber.

The microbending improvement of ColorLock^XS coating on BendBright^XS is exemplified by the fiber's resistance to kink-losses, a key metric to determine fiber performance in tight bends in FTTx applications, such as stapling cables.  Kink-loss can be described as partial bends up to 45 degrees of the optical fiber at radii as small as 2 mm.  Typical losses for BendBright^XS in such a scenario are less than 0.1 dB, even at a 2 mm radius, which represents up to a 100x improvement over standard single mode.  

"This combination of BendBright^XS with the new ColorLock^XS coating is yet another example of Draka Comteq's clear leadership in fiber technology.  It shows our commitment to raise the bar, continuously innovating our products, which ultimately add significant value to the end-customer," says Phil Edwards, President of Draka Comteq Optical Fiber.  

About BendBright^XS BendBright^XS
Draka Comteq's flagship bend-insensitive fiber, first introduced in 2006 and commercially available for over one year, uses a "trench-assisted" index profile to achieve the highest level of bend performance on the market, meeting the most stringent industry standard for bend-insensitive fiber, ITU-T G.657.B.  With approximately 100X macro bending performance improvement over standard single mode fiber, BendBright^XS with the new ColorLock^XS fiber coating 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 all-glass fiber on the market that meets and exceeds the stringent ITU-T G.657.B bending requirements, yet maintains backwards compatibility with existing single mode fibers, meeting ITU-T G.652.D.   

About ColorLock^XS Fiber Coating
Unlike other fibers on the market that require an additional process to color the fiber, ColorLock^XS uses a patented technology in which the fibers are colored during the draw process.  With integrated colors in the fiber coating, the fiber color is guaranteed not to wear, maintaining vibrant colors throughout the lifetime of the fiber.  More importantly, BendBright^XS with ColorLock^XS is the only optical fiber in the world proof tested after coloring. Fibers which are proof tested prior to the fiber coloring process raises questions about true fiber lifetime after coloration.

"With more and more discussions of reduced bend radius fiber storage we think that Draka Comteq clearly has the best lifetime performance, bar none, in the optical fiber industry," states Phil Edwards.  

Draka Comteq 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 single mode fiber.  The success of BendBright fiber is highlighted by the AT&T award "2005 Supplier Innovator of the Year", given to Draka Comteq 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 single mode fiber, was introduced in 2006.  

About Draka Comteq
Draka, headquartered in Amsterdam , the Netherlands , is a $ 3.46 billion, publicly listed (Euronext) company with 9,200 employees worldwide. Draka consists of two groups, Draka Cableteq, which is responsible for the low-voltage and special purpose cable activities and Draka Comteq, which is responsible for the production and sale of optical fiber, cable and communication infrastructure solutions. Draka Comteq, a jointly owned company of Draka and Alcatel-Lucent, is a global leader in optical fiber technology and telecommunication cabling solutions.  

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