WASHINGTON, May 26 -- Organizers of the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition (OFC) and the National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference (NFOEC) announced plans today to combine the two events into one conference and trade show exposition, to be held March 6-11, 2005, at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. The stand-alone NFOEC meeting, originally planned for Sept. 12-16 in Anaheim, will not be held. Instead, it will take place in combination with OFC in 2005, and Telcordia Technologies Inc., the previous owner and sponsor of NFOEC, will continue to offer recommendations on programming content and audience outreach together with OFC management. OFC is managed by the Optical Society of America (OSA) and co-sponsored by OSA, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers/Communications Society (IEEE/ComSoc) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers/Lasers and Electro-Optics Society. Telcordia Technologies said it has turned over assets and management of NFOEC in order "to remain focused on core competencies in telecommunication software and services." NFOEC was initially geared to the regional bell operating companies. Over the years, it expanded its reach to competitive local exchange carriers, long-distance carriers and a wide variety of facilities-based network operators. "Owned and managed by OFC, the combined OFC/NFOEC event will provide attendees and exhibiting companies with the communications industry's most comprehensive view of optical technology, both in terms of the latest research breakthroughs and innovations as well as the commercial products and services available today," OSA said in a statement. Elizabeth Rogan, OSA's executive director, said, "Both OFC and NFOEC have long been leaders in serving the research, engineering and application communities in the communications industry. By joining our efforts and areas of expertise, this combined event will offer enhanced programming for the benefit of our attendees and will deliver a greater concentration of customers in one location, which is a terrific opportunity for our exhibitors." OFC/NFOEC 2005 programming and special event announcements will be released in the coming months. The 2005 conference will feature an exposition, plenary session, peer-reviewed technical programming, workshops, short courses and special focus sessions including OFC's Market Watch: Business & Technology and the Service Provider Summit. "We anticipate that the joining of these two events will be well received by attendees and exhibitors alike," said Jack M. Howell, executive director, IEEE/ComSoc. "Both conferences share 20-plus year histories of providing quality meetings to the communications industry." For more information, visit: www.ofcconference.org