Light at the end of the telecoms tunnel

摘要

The current state of the telecome industry has been widely reported, with very few analysts prepared to speculate on when it will return to health. The truth is that the market is still growing - albeit at a more modest level than during the late 1990s, and with operators and systems developers looking for new innovations to help stimulate the market. Necessity is often described as the "mother of invention" but in an industry traditionally wary of change the market is faced with a dilemma. The telecoms sector's approach to research and development (R&D) is indeed changing. It will play a significant part of the attainment of smaller, higher performance, and lower cost optical components which will be the backbone of a new prosperous telecoms market. The OFC (Optical Fiber Communication) 2002 exhibition and convention earlier this year heralded a turning point for the telecoms industry for many reasons. Many organisations were still licking their wounds from the rigours of the last 12 months, and while the general mood was one of concern there was an indication that R&D will play an important part in the market's return.