What's Happening in the Fiber Optics Industry: Weekly News Briefs

Feb. 2 -- The Bezeq International unit of Bezeq Israel Telecom has signed an agreement in principle with Bermuda-based TyCom Ltd. to lay a fiber optic network under the eastern Mediterranean. The joint venture would operate, own and sell bandwidth capacity on the subsea fiber optic system linking into the TyCom Global Network. ... San Jose-based optical networking solution provider Zaffire Inc. has named Keith Kreager vice president of worldwide technical and quality operations. ... MetroPhotonics has named Brian Hichwa as executive vice president and head of its US subsidiary. Hichwa comes to MetroPhotonics from JDS Uniphase. ... John Highhouse of Lincoln Trail College is the new president-elect of The Fiber Optic Association. He will take office in July for a two-year term. Highhouse has been involved in the telecom industry for 34 years and was one of the co-founders of FOA in 1995. ... NSG America Inc., supplier of gradient index lenses, has opened a new sales office in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.