Commercial Market
US Electronics Factory Sales Rise 10 Percent through Third Quarter
The Electronic Industries Association reports that US factory sales of electronics equipment and products reached nearly $296 B during the first nine months of 1996, an increase of 10 percent over 1995’s total of $269.4 B for the same period. The telecommunications sector led the growth with sales of $44.6 B through September 1996, a growth of 16 percent over the $38.5 B sold in the first nine months of 1996. Computers and peripherals followed closely with a 14 percent increase from $53.2 B in 1995 to $60.7 B in 1996. The electronic components and other related products sectors both recorded nine percent increases; the electronic components sector increased from $75.5 B to $82.4 B. Defense communications, the only losing sector, saw its sales fall two percent to $20.7 B from $21.2 B in 1995.
Motorola to Donate Pagers to Waitlisted Organ Transplant Patients
The Personal Communications Industry Association (PCIA) Foundation’s LifePage program has received an offer from Motorola to donate pagers for the next year to individuals registered for organ transplants. Since its inception in 1983, thousands of major transplant recipients have benefited from the PCIA program, which provides a critical link between transplant center coordinators and patients by offering free pagers and paging services to patients registered for major organ transplants. Rapid communication is necessary because of the limited preservation time and limited number of donor organs. More than 9000 requests for pagers were processed in 1995 compared to approximately 12,000 requests in 1996.
North American Single-mode Fiber-optic Interconnect Hardware Market to Reach $458 M
According to a recent report from KMI Corp., Newport, RI, the North American market for single-mode fiber-optic interconnect hardware will reach $458 M by 2001. With sales of $287 M in 1996, the study forecasts a compound annual growth of 9.8 percent per year for the hardware.
An estimated 90 percent of such hardware sales were to US buyers in 1996, with six percent going to Canada and four percent to Mexico. Both telephone companies and community access television (CATV) operators in the US and Canada have committed to network upgrades and will be the principal buyers of single-mode interconnect hardware in their areas. In Mexico, the market will depend primarily on telephone work.
More than nine million single-mode connectors have been installed in North America—nearly 40 percent of the total installed worldwide. By 2001, it is estimated that North American installations will reach 18.6 million units at an average annual growth of 15 percent. Sales of connector and cable assemblies are forecast to grow from $108 M in 1995 to $177 M in 2001 at a compound annual growth rate of 8.3 percent.
The SC connector, one-third of the single-mode connector market in 1993, is expected to be used in 70 percent of applications by 2001. The move to this connector style is being driven by its lower price and ease of alignment.
The telephone companies and CATV operators are also expected to continue to be the principal buyers of SC connectors with ceramic ferrules and precision polished, preterminated cables and fiber management frames. The evolution of miniature connectors, multifiber devices and new ferrule materials is expected to affect the single-mode connector market during the next several years. For more information, contact KMI Corp. (401) 849-6771.
1997 IEEE Standards Products Catalog Available
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) has announced the release of printed and electronic versions of the 1997 IEEE Standards Products Catalog . The catalog features a complete listing of standards publications and services offered by the IEEE, along with information needed to place orders. The publication also serves as an information source for new, revised, reaffirmed and withdrawn standards. IEEE Standards’ economical collections, sets and packages are featured in addition to a detailed listing of print and electronic publications relevant to standards and their implementation in areas of electrical engineering, electronics and computer technology. Mixed media, a new category added to the catalog this year, provides information on IEEE Standards’ products available on diskette, CD-ROM and on-line.
The IEEE catalog is posted on the World Wide Web at http://stdsbbs.ieee.org/. For more information, contact the IEEE (908) 562-3800 or e-mail: stds-maillst@ieee.org.
Cellular and PCS Services Licensed in Taiwan
According to PCS Week , Taiwan has announced the award of eight mobile phone licenses for the provision of Global System for Mobile communications (GSM)-based cellular and digital communications system (DCS)1800 personal communications services (PCS). The licensing process survived the controversial limit of 20 percent on foreign equity participation in bidding consortia established by Taiwanese authorities. Questions about compliance with the 20 percent limit arising from cross ownership by Asian interests indirectly holding positions in more than one consortium delayed the awards twice. National cellular 900 MHz and DCS1800 systems will be built, along with one of each system in the northern, central and southern regions.
Several US companies are members of winning consortia. The two nationwide DCS1800 licenses were awarded to groups including AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and GTE Corp. The AT&T group was also awarded one of three regional licenses for a GSM cellular network. Other participating US companies are SBC Communications Inc., a member of a group awarded a 900 MHz regional license, and Sprint Corp., a member of a group winning a DCS1800 license. The regional licenses won by the AT&T and Sprint groups are for the northern region, which includes Taipei. Approximately 400,000 subscribers are on the waiting list currently for cellular service in Taiwan.
New Directory of US Standards Activity Offered
The new edition of the directory of Standards Activities of Organizations in the United States (SP 806) has been published by the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology. The 1996 edition covers the standards activities of more than 700 US organizations including approximately 80 federal agencies and 620 private sector groups that issue standards.
The largest section of the directory contains an alphabetical listing of approximately 620 nongovernment organizations that develop standards, contribute to the standardization process in partnership with other organizations or provide documents and information. Each listing includes the type of organization, scope of its standards and standardization activities (whether voluntary or mandatory), availability of its standards and other conformity-assessment activities. Major nongovernment standards developers include the Aerospace Industries Association, the Society of Automotive Engineers and the US Pharmacopeial Convention.
Also included in the directory are a section on sources for standards and related information; a subject index; and listings that cover organizational acronyms and initials, former names and groups listed in the previous directory that are no longer involved with standards. Copies of the directory are available from the superintendent of documents, US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. Order by stock number 003-003-03427-4.