YING TECHNOLOGIES The three technologies discussed in this section-fiber-optic cabling, multi-core processors, and memory-are the building blocks of modern networks. They enable networks to carry more information, faster. Decreasing memory costs have led to affordable personal computers and the ability to store vast amounts of information, accessible via fiber-optic-based networks at lower costs. Fiber-Optic Cabling: Underpinning High- Speed Networks Without fiber-optic cabling it would not be possible for the Internet to reach the speed and capacity required to link populations around the globe. Before the introduction of fiber cabling by MCI (now part of Verizon Communications) in 1983 for inter- city routing, networks were labor-intensive to build and maintain. Copper cabling is heavier, and has less capacity than fiber cabling, and copper-based networks require more equipment to deploy and maintain. Computing and Enabling Technologies Electrical signals used to transmit voice and data over copper cabling are subject to fading over relatively short distances. Consequently, amplifiers are needed every mile and a half to boost the electrical signals carried on copper-based networks. It requires many technicians to install and repair these amplifiers. In contrast, data on fiber-optic cabling is carried as non-electric pulses of light. These non-electric signals can travel 80 miles before having to be regenerated. This is an enormous savings in labor and allows new organizations to lay miles of fiber between cities, creating competition among local, established telephone companies worldwide. The most significant advantage of fiber-optic cabling is its enormous capacity compared to copper cabling and mobile services. Light signals on optical cabling pulse on and off at such high speeds that they are able to handle vastly greater amounts of information than any other media. Once fiber-optic cabling was in place, electronics were developed in the form of wavelength-division multiplexing, which further expanded fiber'