Report notes optical fiber surplus

A surplus of optical fiber and fiber optic cable was manufactured in 2001 that will affect the amount required for 2002, according to KMI Research.
KMI (www.kmicorp.com), based in Providence, R.I., has updated its fiber optic cable and optical fiber production information for 1999, 2000, and 2001 and developed projections through 2006 for more than 200 fiber optic cable facilities, and 65 optical fiber production facilities worldwide. Its recently released report is "Worldwide Optical Fiber and Fiberoptic Cable Markets: Analyses & Forecasts of Installations & Production." Market share by group for both optical fiber and fiber optic cable production also has been updated.
After two years of unprecedented volume demand for cabled fiber, in mid-2001 the demand for fiber optic cable has slowed down dramatically. The Worldwide Optical Fiber and Fiberoptic Cable Markets report includes a revised cabled-fiber demand forecast by region from 1998-2006. Pricing for optical fiber, and fiber optic cable by fiber type shows the market for optical fiber will be $4.7 billion, and $11.8 billion for fiber optic cable in 2006.
A confluence of regulatory, market, investment, and technology factors drove growth from 1996 through 2000. Unfortunately, this growth represented "too much investment in new fiber networks and too many operators in several key geographic markets. So the market is now correcting for these excesses," says Patrick Fay, a KMI research analyst and author of "Worldwide Optical Fiber and Fiberoptic Cable Markets: Analyses & Forecasts of Installations & Production."
Fay expects positive growth to resume in the fiber optic cable market in 2003 and the worldwide level of installation to pass the 2000 high point in 2004.
KMI Research provides reports on worldwide optical fiber markets, news services, fiber optics route maps and conferences on global, regional, and undersea fiber optics markets.