These are boom times for optical companies.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Gurus also got rid of optical networking companies Ciena Broadwing.

FORBES: Magazine Article

As I noted in a post yesterday, the optical networking components companies were hit hard on Tuesday on a wave of concern about how the industry will be affected by damage to key contract manufacturer Fabrinet from the recent severe flooding in Thailand.

FORBES: Update: Optical Firms See Impact From Thai Flooding

There were particularly severe issues for companies making disk drives and optical networking components, but the impact was widespread.

FORBES: Thai Power Woes Threaten Tech Supply Chain; How To Respond

Telephone companies, such as Verizon, are rolling out optical fibre to the home to do the same.

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As the carrier market continues to consolidate and focus on global expansion, it will increasingly turn to companies like Alcatel that are uniquely qualified to build the next generation global optical Internet.

FORBES: Readers Say

Besides speed, the core switch, which is said to collapse optical and high-performance multiprotocol switching, is being positioned as a better way for companies to manage peak demand, as well as the different types of mobile, video, and landline traffic that must be managed efficiently.

FORBES: Juniper Announces New Switch

Unlike other venture firms that suffered from the market collapse, NEA managed to avoid huge losses in its public portfolio companies by staying clear of dot-com retailers and focusing on communications services and optical components.

FORBES: NEA Was Not Immune To Mistakes

Companies now are racing to make the components faster and drive the cost much lower, so that optical connections can also accelerate communications inside and among PCs and consumer-electronics devices.

WSJ: IBM Claims Breakthrough in Laser-Based Chips