This feat (called wave-division multiplexing, or WDM) was the basis of Ciena's founding.

FORBES: Telltale numbers

Thanks to an engineer's trick called "wave division multiplexing, " a single fiber-optic thread can carry upwards of 10 trillion bits per second.

FORBES: Digital Rules

But old style phone regulations often require network operators to maintain and expand obsolete copper wires and TDM (time division multiplexing) switching technologies.

FORBES: "Phone" Is Just an App; Why Regulate It?

Crosswave uses synchronous optical network (sonet) and wavelength division multiplexing (dwdm) technologies, which enable it to transmit data at high speeds over long distances with a high degree of reliability.

FORBES: 20 FOR 2000

Worldcom was one of the first carriers to deploy a newfangled technology called "dense wavelength division multiplexing" (FORBES, Oct. 7, 1997) that greatly increases the amount of traffic an existing fiber-optic cable can carry.

FORBES: Grand illusions

His work in this area would outline many of the fundamental principles required for digital communications, especially in regard to required sample rates and bandwidth limitations, and build upon previous ideas, like Time Division Multiplexing and early facsimile machines.

ENGADGET: Primed: digital audio basics Mobile