City of Light: The Story of Fiber Optics

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Reflections on the City of Light
It is my firm belief that an almost ideal telecommunication
network ...going a long way toward eliminating the effects
of mere distance altogether, can be made—but only,
at least as now foreseeable, by optical means. I believe
too that within and between the highly developed regions
of the world such a technological revolution ...will be
demanded by the public by the start of the next century. It
will be a real adventure, and lead too, to truly stimulating
new challenges in human behavior—in all of which John
Logie Baird, the pioneer in this venture whom we are commemorating
tonight, would have been only too pleased,
through his own eyes and hands, to take part.
—Alec Reeves, John Logie Baird memorial lecture,
May 1969 1
A lec Reeves saw only the first steps toward fiber-optic communications,
and probably had no idea that John Logie Baird himself had played a bit
part in fiber-optic imaging. But he was prophetic in seeing the development
of fiber communications as an adventure.
It was a marvelous adventure for John Midwinter. ‘‘Everything we touched
turned to gold,’’ he recalls. ‘‘It was unbelievable. From 1974 onwards, it was
just one success after another. We had this wonderful group, with very strong
backing.’’ By 1984, British Telecom had effectively launched fiber optics, and
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