IN LIGHT OF LAYOFFS, FUNDING CALAMITIES, scaled-back business plans and other setbacks recently among microelectromechanical device (MEMS) manufacturers that target the optical networking market, one can't help but wonder, is MEMS technology an oasis or a mirage for the telecommunications industry? The answer appears to be oasis, with perhaps some brown edges.
After a frenzied few years of telecom carriers laying fiber optic cable in many areas, increasingly advanced components will be needed to get the most out of those considerable investments. MEMS will likely play a key role (primarily in the form of switches); as a result, sales of MEMS for use in optical networking will rise from $82 million in 2001 to $2.1 billion in 2005.
This upbeat forecast doesn't mean that the current slowdown hasn't hurt MEMS makers targeting the telecom segment, or that there aren't other hurdles to overcome. But, while MEMS manufacturers have been affected by this year's telecom meltdown-nearly 150,000 employees in the optical networking sector have lost their jobs to date-they haven't suffered as badly as the telecom providers and equipment makers themselves.
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