NFOEC Lacking In Attendance - 18th Annual National Fiber Optics Engineers Conference - Brief Article

DALLAS--The telecom depression, while slowly subsiding, still is taking its toll on trade-show attendance. Reduced numbers at the 18th Annual National Fiber Optics Engineers Conference this week at the Dallas Convention Center can be blamed on continued cutbacks on travel and booth space, hitting the show right in the pocketbook. Although official figures (as of Wednesday) put attendees on site at 6,370--- 2,850 sporting "full conference" badges' and 3,520 registered as "exhibition staff"--there is plenty of room in the sessions and the show floor is, in the words of one exhibitor, "d-e-a-d, dead." In fact, a number of cancellations reportedly forced the consolidation of four exhibit areas into three. Most companies were touting current products, with new introductions being the exception rather than the rule.

For more on this year's conference and other developments in the optics sector, be sure to read the upcoming issue of Fiber Optics News, due out on Sept. 23. To find out how to subscribe, visit the "newsstand" at http://www.TelecomWeb.com.

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