Fiber-optic communication is a method of transmitting information from one place to another by sending pulses of
light through an
optical fiber. The light forms an
electromagnetic carrier wave that is
modulated to carry information. First developed in the 1970s, fiber-optics have revolutionized the
telecommunications industry and have played a major role in the advent of the
Information Age. Because of its advantages over electrical transmission, optical fibers have largely replaced copper wire communications in
core networks in the
developed world. Optical fiber is used by many telecommunications companies to transmit telephone signals, Internet communication, and cable television signals. Researchers at
Bell Labs have reached internet speeds of over 100
petabit×kilometer per second using fiber-optic communication.