Optical Networks - The Next Wave

Driven by increased high-bandwidth traffic, including video, the reduction in the last mile bottleneck resulting from ubiquitous DSL and growing fiber-to-the-home connections and an increasing global digital population, the demand and deployment of long haul and, especially, metro WDM optical network is experiencing substantial growth. We provide a view of the research directions and activities that will be essential to innovate the cost- effective optical networks needed to meet this growing global appetite for information-intensive services.