Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 14, 1993 TAG: 9312140067
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The recommendation, released late Friday, means a Cold War prohibition on exporting the technology could end as early as next month. Commerce's statement decided part of a five-year debate among government agencies.
The National Security Agency, which carries out most of the government's electronic surveillance of other countries, has persistently tried to prevent adversaries from obtaining fiber-optic communication.
The security agency's concern has been that information relayed over fiber optics is much more difficult to intercept than information carried by radio or satellites.
The equipment at issue in this case is most useful in carrying thousands of phone calls or data over very long distances. Fiber optics carry voice conversations and data as pulses of light over hair-thin strands of glass.
AT&T, the nation's largest manufacturer of telecommunication equipment, has been actively seeking business in China, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The company has estimated that the restrictions are costing it $100 million in annual sales.
Two Roanoke Valley manufacturers of fiber-optic equipment, Alcatel Telecommunications Cable and FiberCom Inc., also see China and the former Soviet bloc as potentially lucrative markets.
"I would definitely say there's a market for fiber-optic products in the former Soviet Union, and that companies like Alcatel are looking at the market as a potential growth area," said Jim Holt, of Alcatel's export sales department. Alcatel makes fiber-optic cable at a plant on Plantation Road.
Holt said many American companies are being asked to make proposals for turnkey projects in the former Soviet Union. If Alcatel lands any of that business, its U.S. plants could benefit, but sales would be handled from a European office, he said.
FiberCom, which makes high-speed fiber-optic networking equipment at a plant on Orange Avenue, would certainly pursue any new business opportunities if the countries are opened to U.S. firms, said Selby Wellman, vice president of marketing.
FiberCom already ships its products all over the world, he said.
The Commerce Department issued its finding in response to a petition AT&T filed in June.
The department said it agreed with AT&T that the kind of equipment being restricted could be acquired from other countries. Under the export-control law, an export restriction must be dropped if it is being rendered ineffective by suppliers from other countries.
The Commerce Department has sole authority over the issue, although it must circulate its recommendation to the National Security Agency, the Pentagon and other intelligence agencies. Unless the Commerce Department reverses itself within 30 days, the rule will be dropped.
Staff writer Greg Edwards contributed to this story.
by CNB