OFS Announces Commercial Availability of EZ-Bend® InvisiLight™ Optical Solution for Nearly Invisible Fiber in the Home

Can increase take-rates and speed deployment

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Sep 17, 2012, 06:00 ET

AMSTERDAM, Sept. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ECOC 2012, Stand 335 - OFS, a leading edge designer, manufacturer and supplier of innovative fiber optic network solutions, today announced the commercial availability of its EZ-Bend® InvisiLight™ Optical Solution, offering virtually invisible, faster fiber routing inside homes and MDUs.

"The EZ-Bend InvisiLight Solution was trialled across the globe by key OFS customers yielding excitement from installers and end-users," said Linda Dembowski, General Manager, Optical Connectivity Solutions for OFS. "For our customers this solution improves both sides of the business case equation. Its virtual invisibility helps increase home owner and landlord acceptance which in turn increases take rate and revenues; while the easy installation process, auto-slack storage, and plug and play design speed deployment to help reduce time in the residence lowering overall installation costs."

"We had planned on a four day installation period for 12 units and our installers completed the work in 1.5 days including training Clearline IS, our preferred installer. Imagine the cost savings to us with nearly one-quarter of the traditional labor costs for last mile of FTTH installation," said Gert Jansen van Rensburg, Product Manager OSP, Dartcom (Pty) Ltd., South Africa.

FTTH providers are now deploying compact Optical Network Terminals (ONTs) deep into subscriber's homes to facilitate in-home networking. However, some customers cancel service orders once they learn the installation requires unsightly conventional optical cables. Routing fiber behind walls is an option, but this is a slow and expensive installation unless behind the wall ducts are already in place and accessible.

The EZ-Bend InvisiLight Optical Solution solves this challenge with a 1 mm diameter optical micro-cord that blends seamlessly with the interior decor. The installer uses a simple process to roll and adhere the micro-cord into grooves between ceilings and walls, walls and moldings, corners between walls, or directly on moldings. OFS' EZ-Bend® fiber enables this solution to conform to the contours and many corners in a residence with negligible signal loss.

The EZ-Bend InvisiLight Optical Solution is being presented at ECOC Stand 335 September 17 – 19 in Amsterdam.

About OFS

OFS is a world-leading designer, manufacturer and provider of optical fiber, optical fiber cable, connectivity, FTTX and specialty photonics solutions. Our marketing, sales, manufacturing and research teams provide forward-looking, innovative products and solutions in areas including Telecommunications, Medicine, Industrial Automation, Sensing, Government, Aerospace and Defense applications. We provide reliable, cost effective optical solutions to enable our customers to meet the needs of today's and tomorrow's digital and energy consumers and businesses.

OFS' corporate lineage dates back to 1876 and includes 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 China, Denmark, Germany, Russia, and the United States.

For more information, please visit www.ofsoptics.com.

About Dartcom (Pty) Ltd.

DARTCOM (Pty) Ltd is a specialist distributor of Radio Frequency (RF), Fibre Optic communications components, sub systems, accessories, Wire and Cable Power Systems. Over the years, Dartcom has progressively expanded its product base and has recently added a whole range of telecommunication access and termination equipment as well outside plant hardware and software systems. Underlining the technology and products, is a fundamental commitment to client satisfaction and exceptional service levels to the communications industry in Africa.

For more information, please visit www.dartcom.co.za.

SOURCE OFS