Patent ID: 8391723

Claim:
A system for transmitting a first optical signal and a second optical signal through an optical fiber having material operable to transmit a wavelength band including a first wavelength and a second wavelength and that produces distortions in at least one of the first optical signal and the second optical signal when the at least one of the first optical signal and the second optical signal has a power that is greater than a maximum acceptable transmission power such that an output corresponding to the at least one of the first optical signal and the second optical signal has a degradation that is more than a predetermined acceptable degradation, said system comprising: a first optical transmitter operable to transmit the first optical signal up to a first maximum power and including the maximum acceptable transmission power, the first optical signal having the first wavelength, wherein said first optical transmitter is operable to receive a first information as at least one of a broadcast signal and a first narrowcast signal, further wherein the first optical signal is based on the received at least one of the broadcast signal and the first narrowcast signal, a second optical transmitter operable to transmit the second optical signal up to a second maximum power and including the maximum acceptable transmission power, the second optical signal having the second wavelength, wherein said second optical transmitter is operable to receive a second information as at least one of the broadcast signal and a second narrowcast signal, further wherein the second optical signal is based on the received at least one of the broadcast signal and the second narrowcast signal; an optical receiver being disposed to receive a received optical signal corresponding to one of the first optical signal and the second optical signal, said optical receiver being operable to process the received optical signal only when the received optical signal has a power equal to or greater than a minimum power and when a degradation of the received optical signal is less than or equal to the predetermined acceptable degradation; a laser portion operable to generate an amplifying signal capable of generating a Raman interaction in the optical fiber to provide a gain to the received optical signal; and a combiner portion operable to receive the amplifying signal and provide a back-pump signal based on the amplifying signal into the optical fiber to provide a gain to the one of the first optical signal and the second optical signal such that when said first optical transmitter transmits the first optical signal below the maximum acceptable transmission power and when said second optical transmitter transmits the second optical signal below the maximum acceptable transmission power said optical receiver is operable to process the received optical signal.