FIRECOMMS JOINS OPASTCO TO ADVOCATE TO TELCOS THE USE OF POF FOR IPTV AND HOME NETWORKING

Austin, Texas — April 21, 2009 — Firecomms Ltd., a leading developer of high speed Plastic Optical Fiber (POF) transceivers and Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs), today announces that it has become a member of OPASTCO, Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies, to advocate the use of Plastic Optical Fiber (POF) as a low-cost, high margin medium for IPTV home networks and other enhanced service offerings.

POF offers all the advantages of optical fiber without the challenges. With data rates of up to one Gigabit, POF is a robust technology for 100 Mbps Optical Ethernet and 250 Mbps Optical FireWire in the home. Its numerous advantages over other home network transmission media, including very small size, simple connectivity, quick troubleshooting, and immunity to electrical noise, means telcos of any size can benefit from quicker, more flexible and cost-effective installations.

OPASTCO is an industry leader in rural telecom policy, technical issues, member-run committees, education, knowledge-sharing, and networking. The organization provides its members with regulatory, legislative and technical expertise necessary to navigate the telecom world.

"As rural telcos look to expand their service offerings into advanced areas such as IPTV, these companies face connectivity and resource challenges that are unique to smaller companies," says Firecomms' vice president of sales and marketing for the Americas, Lawrence Thorne. "As a leader in POF technology, Firecomms will be a resource to help these companies reduce installation time, maximize profits in installations with advanced services, and contribute to the reduction in service truck rolls."

"OPASTO is pleased to welcome Firecomms to the association," says John McHugh, OPASTCO technical director. "The compan'’s POF solutions to in home wiring provide OPASTCO members, who are now offering in-home networking services, a new option for the connection of home network components."

Firecomms leads the development of devices to drive POF, the low-cost optical alternative to copper cabling. Due to its ease of use, large core tolerances, and low costs, POF is enjoying significant growth in a wide range of applications. POF was created for consumer, industrial, and automotive applications in which plastic fiber can be used more easily and at lower cost than copper or glass fiber, and is now used in millions of small area networks, such as those in use in many car models, and is rapidly gaining ground in home network and point-to-point interconnection. According to market research by Information Gatekeepers, the POF market is estimated to be worth over $1 billion per year by the end of 2009.

About Firecomms Ltd.

Firecomms, a semiconductor company, develops high-speed optical components that drive IPTV home networks and in-car multimedia entertainment systems. The company’s revolutionary Optolock® technology, licensed worldwide, has created the ability to bring fiber into every home in the world.

Firecomms is headquartered in Cork, Ireland and has facilities in Japan and the USA. Additional information about the company can be found on its web site at www.firecomms.com. More information about POF is available at pofnetworks.com.

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