Optical fibres in telecommunications

Abstract

In recent years, the field of telecommunications has undergone a major revolution with the introduction of optical fibre as a replacement for coaxial cable on major trunk routes. Fibre offers significant advantages over coaxial cable in terms of cost, convenience and, most especially, performance. It is now possible to link major cities within the UK by using unrepeatered lengths of high bandwidth, low loss single-mode optical fibre. There is, however, a need for signal boosters on the long haul, land-based and submarine links now being installed. These repeaters are spaced at intervals of approximately fifty kilometres and, for submarine links such as the transatlantic cable, TAT-8, must be extremely reliable and maintenance-free.

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