Programming Highlights -- Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition -OFC- and National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference -NFOEC- 2005.

OFC/NFOEC 2005

Register and Attend OFC/NFOEC 2005 the Premier International
                     Optical Communications Event

    With Business Focused-Programming and More Than 1,000 Technical
     Paper Presentations OFC/NFOEC is This Year's Most Influential
                     Technical and Business Forum


What:            OFC/NFOEC 2005

When/Where:      March 6 - 11 (Exhibits Open March 8 - 10) at the
                 Anaheim Convention Center

Details:         As the largest and most comprehensive
                 international event for optical communications, this
                 year's combined OFC/NFOEC will for the first time
                 host the entire scope of optical communications,
                 providing programming, exhibit and educational
                 activities for all audiences from researchers
                 working in the laboratories to service providers and
                 carriers to equipment manufacturers. Featuring a
                 broad spectrum of optics and electronics exhibitors,
                 with 40 percent from outside the U.S., OFC/NFOEC is
                 the most time-efficient, cost-effective opportunity
                 to see the latest products and get a first-look at
                 the technology of the present and future. The
                 technical program, now featuring both the OFC and
                 NFOEC programs, will feature hundreds of sessions,
                 including workshops, short courses and paper
                 presentations, giving a broader spectrum of
                 participants the opportunity to network and
                 customize their learning experience in one event.

Highlights:      Business and Technical Programming include:

                 --  Plenary Session discussions on the history and
                     global impact of low-loss optical fiber and
                     Broadband Expansion in Japan. Featuring
                     presentations by Dr. Donald B. Keck, retired
                     vice president and research director of Corning
                     and Hiromichi Shinohara, director, NTT Access
                     Network Service Systems Labs., Japan.

                 --  The Service Provider Summit, March 9 - a
                     day-long program shaped around the needs and
                     interests of carriers and service providers and
                     including keynote presentations by Greg Evans,
                     vice president, Services & Access Technologies,
                     Verizon, and Brian Van Steen, senior analyst,
                     RHK.

                 --  The third annual Market Watch: Business and
                     Technology(TM), March 8 - 10, a three-day series
                     that will focus on the applications and business
                     trends that impact the future of the optical
                     communications industry.

                 --  Hundreds of educational workshops and tutorial
                     sessions.

                 Private media events will include:

                 --  A media lunch panel at noon on Tuesday, March 8,
                     OFC/NFOEC representatives and participating
                     panelists from the scientific, corporate and
                     analyst communities will provide a high-level
                     view of the industry and present an
                     international perspective of FTTx. More details
                     to be released soon.

Registration:    Registration for OFC/NFOEC 2005 has begun and can be
                 accessed online at
 http://www.ofcconference.org/media_center/MediaRegistrationForm.aspx.

Contact:         Please contact us or visit the event Web site at
                 www.ofcconference.org for additional information,
                 including travel arrangement details.

                 Leah Wilkinson, 703-892-8080, [e-mail]
                 Keira Shein, 410-363-9494, [e-mail]
                 Colleen Morrison, 202-416-1437,
                  [e-mail]

About OFC/NFOEC: Since 1985, the Optical Fiber Communication
                 Conference and Exposition (OFC) has provided an
                 annual backdrop for the optical communications field
                 to network and share research and innovations. In
                 2004, OFC joined forces with the National Fiber
                 Optic Engineers Conference (NFOEC) creating the
                 largest and most comprehensive international event
                 for optical communications. By combining an
                 exposition of more than 600 companies, with a unique
                 program of peer-reviewed technical programming and
                 special focused educational sessions, OFC/NFOEC
                 provides an unparalleled opportunity reaching every
                 audience from service providers to optical equipment
                 manufacturers and beyond.

                 OFC/NFOEC, www.ofcconference.org, is managed by the
                 Optical Society of America (OSA) and co-sponsored
                 by OSA, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
                 Engineers/Communications Society (IEEE/ComSoc) and
                 the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
                 Engineers/Lasers and Electro-Optics Society
                 (IEEE/LEOS). Acting as non-financial technical
                 co-sponsors are Telcordia Technologies, Inc. and the
                 International Conference on Integrated Optics and
                 Optical Fiber Communication (IOOC).