Once heralded as the ultimate communications solution, fiber optics technology has been recently lagging behind expectations. Re-routing may get the industry back on a successful path.

Fiber optics technology has witnessed stop-and-go momentum even though the medium boasts a theoretical ability to communicate far faster than either traditional cable or satellite. But, if burgeoning technologies aimed at fixing bugs like these and a $65 billion effort to line the ocean floor with optic cable over the next two years are any indications, the fiber optics field may turn around in the blink of an eye.

Fiber optics technology works by driving information encoded as pulses of colored light through the length of an optical fiber. The use of different colors allows for separate messages to be given individual codes so they may travel the same paths simultaneously. Right now, fiber optics can carry up to 160 separate streams of coded information. If fiber optics ran uninterrupted from point to point then the field wouldn’t have so many problems. But that is not the case. Optical fibers are linked at intersections and the chip-controlled relay stations that route the signals at these links are the field’s weakness. At these relay stations the pulses are converted into electricity for a moment’s time for identification and then converted back into light, all for the purpose of directing them towards their intended destination. The conversion itself isn’t terribly time-consuming. It’s the processing of the bits through chips housed in the station that slows the signal’s passage. Fortunately, technology companies are working on solving the relay station chip problem. Their goal is to develop network equipment that can process data at faster speeds by arranging network processor chips in parallel and sharing the memory tasks among them. These new technologies may be what fiber optics needs to attract users.

Another selling point for fiber optics is how much information it can theoretically transmit. Up until now a clear estimate has eluded researchers. Combining techniques from information theory and theoretical physics, researchers at Lucent’s Murray Hill, NJ laboratory have invented a fiber optic model that is simple enough for them to analyze and, at the same time, complex enough to mimic the fiber’s actual behavior. With this model at their disposal, Lucent’s scientists have been able to establish the theoretical limits of how much data optical fiber can carry as being actually ten times greater than they had previously imagined. If technology developers can successfully usher fiber optics past the station relay dilemma, the technology could be the solution that provides lightning-fast Internet connectivity to the globe, an element that would be an enormous boon to business-to-business e-commerce.

In anticipation of overcoming the hurdles, many companies have begun lining the ocean floor with underwater fiber optic cables. The Asia-Pacific rim, in particular, has recently been the focus of large-scale network installation. Of the projected $65 billion total expected to be spent on submarine fiber optic cable over the next two years, nearly $15 billion will be spent in this locale. By the end of this year experts predict that the region will have 18 million miles of optical cable while North America will have 15.6.

Proponents of fiber optics maintain that, in addition to its obvious advantage as far as capacity is concerned, the communications medium is a better alternative to both other transmission cables and transmission satellites. They point to advantages in accuracy and the fact that fiber optics is immune to most types of environmental hazards such as lightning or chemical erosion. They also add that satellite transmissions can often be delayed, depending on where in the world the transmission is traveling, and are easier to tap. Whether customers agree with these assessments and ultimately put their dollars behind fiber optics is something that only time will tell.

Sources: Fiber Optics: Laying the Cable for Global B2B Connections
Bridget Malone
Electronic Commerce World, June 2001
http://www.ecomworld.com/search/author/article.cfm?ContentId=1116

The Glass Ceiling
The Economist, June 28, 2001
http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=674230

Making Optical Networks Smarter and Faster
Erick Schonfeld
eCompany, June 29, 2001
http://www.business2.com/articles/web/0,1653,12514,FF.html