SAN MATEO, Calif. Dec. 19, 2001 — The estimated global consumption of fiber optic couplers will reach $1.18 billion in 2005 then $2.8 billion by 2010, according to a new market study from ElectroniCast Corp. "Global coupler consumption will be driven by the accelerating demand for high-capacity transport systems such as optical fiber amplifiers, DWDM and OADM," ElectroniCast President Stephen Montgomery said. "Couplers, in various forms, are enabling components used in a wide array of applications such as long haul submarine networks, subscriber loop networks, cable TV networks, test instruments and sensors. The main use of couplers is for splitting or combining signals in today’s capacity-hungry networks and will remain so in the foreseeable future," Montgomery said. Regionally, North America leads in global coupler consumption with 38 percent or $229.75 million in 2001. North American consumption will expand in value to $1.06 billion by 2010. Europe ranks second in usage of fiber optic couplers with 27 percent or $164.97 million in 2001, growing in value to $793 million by 2010. The leading European countries in fiber optic coupler deployment are Germany, the UK, France and Italy.