1.   For example, much of the fiber strands and laser-based equipment in communications networks will be obsolete in a few years.

2.   It installed, for example, a custom-made lighting system to emulate fiber optic strands with neon lighting, one former employee recalled.

3.   The company makes most of the equipment that lets fiber optic strands transmit data, dominating its market, he said.

4.   DWDM is a technology that permits fast access to the Internet and multiple traffic to be carried on each fiber strand in the data-transmission network.