WASHINGTON, Jan. 5, 2006 -- The optoelectronics industry is showing "vibrant growth," said Michael Lebby, executive director of the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association (OIDA), at its annual forum last month. "We are moving to become a $1 trillion industry," Lebby said. Keynote speakers at the forum included FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, who discussed FCC support for broadband, and Verizon Senior Vice President and CTO Mark Wegleitner, who spoke about broadband service offerings/FTTP. Wegleitner announced that Verizon will move its FTTP network from BPON to GPON (broadband and gigabit passive optical network, respectively) to eventually become wavelength division multiplexed (WDM)-PON. Venture capitalists participating in a panel discussion reviewed a number of new and novel investment areas in optoelectronics including medical eye surgery, next-generation fiber optical transceivers, advanced LCDs and thin film technology, high-efficiency silicon solar cells, standardized laser diode fabrication and high-efficiency thermal LED packaging. The panelists ssaid the venture capital industry will fund optoelectronics with strong business plans. Forum attendees also reviewed OIDA's Opto Communications Roadmap, which outlines the opportunities and challenges for the industry over the next 10 years. Lebby reported that optoelectronic component sales overall grew in 2004 with communications components showing a 10 percent annual increase. He cited referenced pluggable modules, components that have demonstrated appreciable growth over the past several years. Other areas of growth mentioned included optical storage, which has grown 81 percent since 2001; optical sensors, which OIDA forecasts will surpass $1 billion by 2008; and LEDs, which are being incorporated into a wide variety of applications. For more information, visit: www.oida.org