That's quite a feat considering that the brutal spring tech correction has decimated share prices of most Internet companies. This equipment turns data and voices into impulses of light that can be shipped at high speeds using lasers over fiber-optic lines. The benefits are enormous. For one thing, optical networking is fast. Currently, most data are turned into electrical pulses that move over old-fashioned copper lines.
Electricity is fast, but light is even faster.
Optical networking's second advantage goes to the companies building high-bandwidth networks. The technology allows these new networks to conduct more data and voice over cables that take up less physical space than copper lines. But all this doesn't mean that JDS Uniphase is a slam-dunk for investors. The company is hardly the only game in town. That's not to mention deep-pocketed rivals such as Cisco Systems and Nortel.