SAN MATEO, Calif., Dec. 10 -- North America leads global consumption of optical modulators in 2001 with a 37.1 percent relative market share, or $100.1 million, according to a study by ElectroniCast Corp. Global consumption value will increase at a pace of about 40.3 percent per year over the next five years to $1.37 billion in 2006 with rapidly rising quantity growth, substantially offset by falling average prices. Consumption value growth will continue at an average annual rate of 22.1 percent over the 2006-2011 period, reaching $3.7 billion. "Eventually the regional markets share of long haul and high-data rate links will migrate to Asia from North America. The majority of the 'new build' long haul/high-data rate Asia links will be attributed to China," ElectroniCast President Stephen Montgomery said. Optical modulators consumed in the Japan/Pacific region will account for 38.6 percent of the global market share by 2011, he added. The report says steady consumption will be driven by continued deployment of fiber in all applications and the continuing demand for upgrading networks to accommodate rapidly increasing bandwidth requirements. "The main application dynamics (drivers) are optical modulators used with high-speed transmitters that are required to transmit longer distances. The actual assembly of transmitters and boards will trend to the Asian region over the forecast period," Montgomery said. For information about the report, contact Theresa Hosking at electronicast@msn.com.