Physics Challenges in the Telecommunications Industry

Telecommunications networks are rapidly advancing beyond a billion bits per sec (GB/sec) today with the real possibility of terabits/sec on major trunk optical fibers at the beginning of the next century. In the local distribution networks, high bit rates in the 10-100 MB/s are likely. The technological challenges in the physics of materials to make this a reality will be discussed and reviewed. New inventions in lightwave devices and electronics are necessary and possible new devices will be discussed and the physics issues illustrated for both types.