ABSTRACT
Until about the mid-1970s, switching networks and traffic concepts followed a traditional evolution based largely on metallic wire conductor systems. As optical waveguide communications began growing at an increasing rate at about that time, an evolution based largely on fiber optics (FO) began to take hold. Its anticipated implementation is indicated in Fig. 4.1, with anticipated specialized optoelectric components of the mid-1980s and early 1990s shown in Table 4.1. Figure 4.2 shows the anticipated growth of component characteristics.
