Editing World Wide Web (section)

===Optical Networking===
[[Optical networking]] is a sophisticated infrastructure that utilizes optical fiber to transmit data over long distances, connecting countries, cities, and even private residences. The technology uses optical microsystems like [[tunable laser]]s, filters, [[Attenuator (electronics)|attenuators]], switches, and wavelength-selective switches to manage and operate these networks.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Liu |first=Xiang |date=2019-12-20 |title=Evolution of Fiber-Optic Transmission and Networking toward the 5G Era |journal=iScience |language=English |volume=22 |pages=489–506 |doi=10.1016/j.isci.2019.11.026 |issn=2589-0042 |pmc=6920305 |pmid=31838439|bibcode=2019iSci...22..489L }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Marom |first=Dan M. |title=3.07 - Optical Communications |date=2008-01-01 |work=Comprehensive Microsystems |pages=219–265 |editor-last=Gianchandani |editor-first=Yogesh B. |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780444521903000355 |access-date=2025-01-17 |place=Oxford |publisher=Elsevier |doi=10.1016/b978-044452190-3.00035-5 |isbn=978-0-444-52190-3 |editor2-last=Tabata |editor2-first=Osamu |editor3-last=Zappe |editor3-first=Hans |archive-date=23 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123163122/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780444521903000355 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The large quantity of optical fiber installed throughout the world at the end of the twentieth century set the foundation of the Internet as it is used today. The information highway relies heavily on optical networking, a method of sending messages encoded in light to relay information in various telecommunication networks.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chadha |first=Devi |title=Optical WDM networks: from static to elastic networks |date=2019 |publisher=Wiley-IEEE Press |isbn=978-1-119-39326-9 |location=Hoboken, NJ}}</ref>

The [[ARPANET|Advanced Research Projects Agency Network]] (ARPANET) was one of the first iterations of the Internet, created in collaboration with universities and researchers 1969.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-29 |title=The Computer History Museum, SRI International, and BBN Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of First ARPANET Transmission, Precursor to Today's Internet {{!}} SRI International |url=https://www.sri.com/newsroom/press-releases/computer-history-museum-sri-international-and-bbn-celebrate-40th-anniversary |access-date=2025-01-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329134941/https://www.sri.com/newsroom/press-releases/computer-history-museum-sri-international-and-bbn-celebrate-40th-anniversary |archive-date=29 March 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Markoff |first=John |date=1993-01-24 |title=Building the Electronic Superhighway |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/24/business/building-the-electronic-superhighway.html |access-date=2025-01-21 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Abbate |first=Janet |title=Inventing the Internet |date=2000 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-51115-5 |edition=3rd printing |series=Inside technology |location=Cambridge, Mass.}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=NSFNET: A Partnership for High-Speed Networking |url=http://www.merit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/NSFNET_final-1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241106150721/https://www.merit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/NSFNET_final-1.pdf |archive-date=6 November 2024 |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=www.merit.edu |url-status=live }}</ref> However, access to the ARPANET was limited to researchers, and in 1985, the [[National Science Foundation]] founded the [[National Science Foundation Network]] (NSFNET), a program that provided supercomputer access to researchers.<ref name=":0" />

Limited public access to the Internet led to pressure from consumers and corporations to privatize the network. In 1993, the US passed the [[National Information Infrastructure|National Information Infrastructure Act]], which dictated that the National Science Foundation must hand over control of the optical capabilities to commercial operators.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rep. Boucher |first=Rick [D-VA-9 |date=1993-09-14 |title=H.R.1757 - 103rd Congress (1993-1994): National Information Infrastructure Act of 1993 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/103rd-congress/house-bill/1757 |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=www.congress.gov |archive-date=10 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110001120/https://www.congress.gov/bill/103rd-congress/house-bill/1757 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2003-07-25 |title=NSF Shapes the Internet's Evolution {{!}} NSF - National Science Foundation |url=https://new.nsf.gov/news/nsf-shapes-internets-evolution |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=new.nsf.gov |language=en}}</ref>

The privatization of the Internet and the release of the World Wide Web to the public in 1993 led to an increased demand for Internet capabilities. This spurred developers to seek solutions to reduce the time and cost of laying new fiber and increase the amount of information that can be sent on a single fiber, in order to meet the growing needs of the public.<ref>{{Citation |last=Radu |first=Roxana |title=Privatization and Globalization of the Internet |date=2019-03-07 |work=Negotiating Internet Governance |pages=75–112 |editor-last=Radu |editor-first=Roxana |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/35243/chapter/299787096 |access-date=2025-01-23 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/oso/9780198833079.003.0004 |isbn=978-0-19-883307-9 |archive-date=14 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250214121234/https://academic.oup.com/book/35243/chapter/299787096 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Birth of the Commercial Internet - NSF Impacts {{!}} NSF - National Science Foundation |url=https://new.nsf.gov/impacts/internet#:~:text=Going%20public,dedicated%20infrastructure%20backbone%20in%201995 |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=new.nsf.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Markoff |first=John |date=1997-03-03 |title=Fiber-Optic Technology Draws Record Stock Value |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/03/business/fiber-optic-technology-draws-record-stock-value.html |access-date=2025-01-23 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=9 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009170252/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/03/business/fiber-optic-technology-draws-record-stock-value.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Paul Korzeniowski, [https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/record-growth-spurs-demand-dense-wdm/docview/226891627/se-2?accountid=44910 “Record Growth Spurs Demand for Dense WDM -- Infrastructure Bandwidth Gears up for next Wave,”] CommunicationsWeek, no. 666 (June 2, 1997): T.40.</ref>

In 1994, Pirelli S.p.A.'s optical components division introduced a wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) system to meet growing demand for increased data transmission. This four-channel WDM technology allowed more information to be sent simultaneously over a single optical fiber, effectively boosting network capacity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hecht |first=Jeff |title=City of light: the story of fiber optics |date=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-510818-7 |series=The Sloan technology series |location=New York}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cisco to Acquire Pirelli DWDM Unit for $2.15 Billion |url=https://www.fiberopticsonline.com/doc/cisco-to-acquire-pirelli-dwdm-unit-for-215-bi-0001 |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=www.fiberopticsonline.com}}</ref>

Pirelli wasn't the only company that developed a WDM system; another company, the [[Ciena|Ciena Corporation]] (Ciena), created its own technology to transmit data more efficiently. [[David R. Huber|David Huber]], an optical networking engineer and entrepreneur [[Kevin Kimberlin]] founded Ciena in 1992.<ref>Hirsch, Stacey (February 2, 2006). "Huber steps down as CEO of Broadwing". The Baltimore Sun.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr. David Huber |url=https://internethistory.org/bio/dr-david-huber/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=History of the Internet |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Internet Commercialization History |url=https://internethistory.org/commercialization/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=History of the Internet |language=en-US}}</ref> Drawing on laser technology from [[Gordon Gould]] and William Culver of [[Optelecom|Optelecom, Inc.]], the company focused on utilizing optical amplifiers to transmit data via light.<ref>{{Cite web |title=May 17, 1993, page 76 - The Baltimore Sun at Baltimore Sun |url=https://baltimoresun.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-the-sun-business/170638608/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en |archive-date=21 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250221021809/https://baltimoresun.newspapers.com/image/170916535/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Hall, Carla. [http://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-17-vw-29544-story.html “Inventor Beams over Laser Patents : After 30 Years, Gordon Gould Gets Credit He Deserves.”] Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 1987.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |date=2005-09-20 |title=Gordon Gould, 85, Figure in Invention of the Laser, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/science/gordon-gould-85-figure-in-invention-of-the-laser-dies.html |access-date=2025-02-03 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=19 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919230151/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/science/gordon-gould-85-figure-in-invention-of-the-laser-dies.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Under chief executive officer Pat Nettles, Ciena developed a dual-stage optical amplifier for dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM), patented in 1997 and deployed on the Sprint network in 1996.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carroll |first=Jim |date=2024-12-12 |title=Patrick Nettles Steps Down as Executive Chair of Ciena |url=https://convergedigest.com/patrick-nettles-steps-down-as-executive-chair-of-ciena/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Converge Digest |language=en-US |archive-date=14 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250214112552/https://convergedigest.com/patrick-nettles-steps-down-as-executive-chair-of-ciena/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite patent|number=US5696615A|title=Wavelength division multiplexed optical communication systems employing uniform gain optical amplifiers|gdate=1997-12-09|invent1=Alexander|inventor1-first=Stephen B.|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US5696615A/en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hecht |first=Jeff |title=City of light: the story of fiber optics |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-19-510818-7 |edition=Rev. and expanded ed., 1. paperback [ed.] |series=The Sloan technology series |location=Oxford}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Optica Publishing Group |url=https://opg.optica.org/oe/viewmedia.cfm?uri=oe-26-18-24190&html=true |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=opg.optica.org |archive-date=26 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250126182827/https://opg.optica.org/oe/viewmedia.cfm?uri=oe-26-18-24190&html=true |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sprint boots some users off 'Net - ProQuest |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/215944575 |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=www.proquest.com | id={{ProQuest|215944575}} |language=en}}</ref>