Sales of optical fibres and photonic products will continue strong throughout 1999. That is the word delivered by Corning Inc's vice president Alan Eusden during the Optical Fibre Communications Conference in San Diego this year. Eusden reported that worldwide demand for optical fibre in 1998 totalled more than 50m kilometers, representing a growth rate of around 10%, compared with 1997. In N America, the various market segments collectively grew by around 20%, including 50% in long-haul, 20% in cable TV, 20% in local exchange 45% in CLECs, 5% in premises, and 20% in the remaining markets of utilities, exports, intelligent transportation systems, and smaller segments. Japan showed a 25% decline in fibre demand last year, with Latin America off 40% from the previous year. W Europe increased demand of 5% with Asian countries experiencing a 10% increase.
