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218 Chapter 9

Figure 9-1 10,000,000
Sales of LEAF fiber
by Corning 800,0000
in Km sold 600,0000

400,0000

200,0000
0
1999 2000 2001 2002

Total Fiber Sales LEAF Sales

in 1999, which accounted for about 10 to 15 percent of all its fiber
sales. Expectations are that the number will increase to the 20 to 25
percent range by the end of 2000. Expectations of growth of this type
of fiber are shown in Figure 9-1. However, the total sales have been
kept stable to show the percentage increases in perspective.
Equipment vendors face another challenge in taking advantage of
these new high-bandwidth options. According to Ciena Corp., the
carriers want systems that meet the following criteria:
Compact

Low power consumption
No heat generation
Suppliers think that microprocessor improvements can solve
these problems and lead to delivery of higher-speed dense-wave-divi-
sion multiplexing (DWDM) systems. By the end of 2000, products
supporting 160 separate 10-Gbps wavelengths (1.6 Tbps of band-
width) began to emerge from vendor’s test labs and into carrier net-
works for trials. Most of this bandwidth will be used in long-haul
connections.
Carrier interest in the new wares is high. Internet service
providers (ISPs) see the products as a way to differentiate their ser-
vices by offering customers higher-speed Internet connections. Com-
petitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) need the bandwidth to
compete with the incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs).