SAN MATEO, Calif., June 18 -- According to a new study from ElectroniCast, the global market consumption of DWDM filter modules was $406 million in 2000. North American communication networks in 2000 consumed 69 percent of DWDM filter module value. The North American share will drop to 56.9 percent but grow in value to $2.20 billion over the forecast period, as shown in Table 1. The Japan/Pacific Rim and Rest of World shares will climb rapidly, to a combined 22.7 percent of the market by 2010, the forecast said. align=RIGHT border=2 hspace=6 vspace=6> Table 1: DWDM Filter Module Consumption Value Trend, by Region "Thin film technology held the highest global consumption value in 2000," said Stephen Montgomery, the president of ElectroniCast. "Waveguide array gratings were second in relative market share. As the requirement for more channels (wavelengths) per module increases each year, thin film will demonstrate a smaller market share, conversely, array waveguide gratings (AWGs) are more accommodating to higher channel counts; therefore AWGs will lead the marketplace by 2010." ElectroniCast, founded in 1981, provides forecasting for the fiber optic, optoelectronic and photonic industries. This includes technology forecasting, markets and applications forecasting, strategic planning, competitive analysis, and marketing/sales consultation. For more information visit www.electronicast.com.