During the last 3 decades, the field of telecommunications has witnessed tremendous growth. Proliferation of the Internet has started a true revolution that is expected to continue through the foreseeable future. Three factors have played major roles in the unprecedented growth of this field:

• Users’ incessant demand for high-speed communication facilities for heavy-duty applications such as rich-content video

• Availability of high-speed transmission media such as optical fibers

• Availability of high-speed hardware such as high-resolution video cameras and high-speed processors

These factors are leading towards an integrated high-speed (and high-bandwidth) communication environment where all communication needs will be supported by a single communication network. The latest trends indicate that bandwidth needs double every 100 days. The volume of data traffic has surpassed the volume of voice traffic. Such a monumental demand for bandwidth can only be met by using optical fiber as transmission media. Other bottlenecks such as bringing fiber to the desktop, or to the home, still exist. However, eventually these obstacles will be overcome. Emerging optical communication networks represent a step in that direction.

The Handbook of Optical Communication Networks is a source of comprehensive reference material for such networks. The material presented here is intended for professionals in the communications industry who are designers and/or planners for emerging telecommunication networks, researchers (faculty members and graduate students), and those who would like to learn about this field.