ANAHEIM, Calif., March 21 -- An estimated 32,000 attendees showed up for the opening of OFC 2002, according to OFC management. That's slightly less than last year's 38,000, a reflection of the contraction in the optics industry and the economic effects of Sept. 11 events, OFC said. "Attendance is actually way above what we estimated," said an OFC staffer. "We expected 25,000 to 30,000 this year -- and that's not even counting Wednesday and Thursday." OFC said attendees to the annual event are especially attracted to its strong technical programs, many of which offer new records and standards never before achieved in the optical fiber industry -- for example, among this year's sessions are "High-Capacity Transmission" by Mitsubishi Japan, focusing on the highest transmission rate to date over long distances, stimulating the feasibility of high-bandwidth transoceanic fiber optic trunk lines. Researchers achieved what they say is a transoceanic class transmission rate record of 1.3 Tb/s over 8,400 km on a single fiber.