In 1970, a breakthrough was achieved when optical fibres were developed. Fibre optics denotes a means of transmission of information in the form of light signals through a transparent medium e.g. glass or plastics. It works under the principle of total internal reflection.

Optical fibre offer many advantages to the telecommunications:

1. An extremely wide bandwidth, permitting several times larger volume of information than is possible through conventional means. It is possible to encapsulate several hundred fibres in one single cable.

2. The higher channel capacity, larger repeater distance and extremely low maintenance cost make the system very cost effective.

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3. Optical fibre communications are free from radio frequency interferance and are immune to electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic pulses. This results in unprecedented high fidelity.

4. Power consumption is extremely low.

5. The communications are almost error free.