Charlottesville, Va., April 25 -- The market for optical add/drop multiplexer (OADM) components and subsystems is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 52 percent from 2002 to 2006, according to a report by Communications Industry Researchers Inc. (CIR). The study, "OADM Markets And Opportunities: 2002-2006," says these devices offer significant opportunities but that vendors must obey four key rules to succeed: 1) don't overestimate the size of the market; 2) be quick to market; 3) stress stability; and 4) stress cost advantage, not technology. "CIR has found that there are no established technologies of choice for reconfigurable OADMs as yet, so the market is wide open to new approaches that can provide large savings," the report says. It provides five-year projections of OADM subsystems markets broken down by access, metro and long-haul applications and by technology type. It also provides forecasts of other components used in OADMs, notably light sources and amplifiers. For information contact Meg Morris at meg@cir-inc.com.