scope:

Although the methodology described here to characterize both sources and fiber may be broadly applicable to different source and fiber types, the specific selection criteria addressed in this bulletin are only applicable to LANs based on short-wavelength (830 - 860 nm) laser sources and graded-index 62.5/125 m optical fibers. Short-wavelength networks based on graded-index 50/125 m fiber alread perform at gigabit-per-second data rates over link lengths of up to 550 meters; criteria for enhanced network performance is therefore less urgent for these networks. Nevertheless, enhanced network performance for 50/125 m fiber systems (e.g.10 gigabit-per-second systems) is currently (as of September 2000) under consideration in the Working Group.