Fiber-Optic Cable Shows Signs of Comeback, Experts Say.

Feb. 29--HICKORY, N.C. -- Worldwide spending on telecommunications equipment, including fiber optics and cable, swung down early in the decade. But analysts believe spending bottomed out last year and will grow again this year.

At Julia Rush's craft store in downtown Hickory, the higher-end goods sit in a glass case at the center of her shop. Lately, though, Rush has been paying more attention to a smaller glass case against a wall, where less expensive items are attracting shoppers these days.

"Everybody is slowing down their buying, their vacationing, everything" Rush said, leaning against the case displaying the less-expensive jewelry.

Hit by what one economic-development official calls the "perfect storm" of economic troubles -- a drop in textiles, furniture and fiber optics production -- the Catawba Valley continues to suffer.

But in the past year, the four-county region centered about 50 miles northwest of Charlotte has seen signs its economy may be stabilizing.

Last year, for the first time since 2000, the average annual unemployment dropped. Retail and housing sales have started to rebound as well. How far the rebound will go is anyone's guess. Many of the jobs lost in textiles and furniture are likely gone forever.

But the area's fiber optic companies, after enduring the painful collapse of the telecommunications bubble in late 2000, say they are poised for new growth.

Fiber optics officials say they are finding new markets for their products, such as wiring new homes to accommodate the latest high-tech gadgetry. And telecom industry experts predict this…