4. Conclusion and outlook

The development of telecommunications around the world is growing steadily, with ever-increasing demand for bandwidth (e-mail, video transmissions, e-commerce, information, etc.) and exchanges of all kinds. The introduction of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH and FTTB) networks, already in service in some Far Eastern countries (Japan, South Korea, etc.), and the development of nomadic services will boost the growth of new components. What's more, the trend is towards networks that can be fully automated with optical signal processing. Given the performance levels to be achieved, non-linear and polarization effects are becoming increasingly important, and need to be either corrected or used, depending on the applications envisaged. All these factors will lead to the arrival of new-generation systems and components. These will call on technologies that will be selected on the basis of their cost (mass...