The use of light to send messages is not new. Fires were used for signaling in
biblical times, smoke signals have been used for thousands of years and flashing
lights have been used to communicate between warships at sea since the days of
Lord Nelson.
The idea of using glass fibre to carry an optical communications signal originated
with Alexander Graham Bell. However this idea had to wait some 80 years for
better glasses and low-cost electronics for it to become useful in practical
situations.
