o the expensive process of laying down more fiber. This new technology pro- vides them with a cost-effective solution." Murshid believes the technique that makes it possible to quadruple the amount of information carried at the same frequency on a single fiber optic cable also has the potential for additional gains in information-carrying capac- ity. "We've been able to successfully transmit at the same frequency four inde- pendent beams of information-carrying light SO far," he says. "But we're only scratching the surface. We will be able to increase this number over time." Murshid compares multiplexed information sent through fiber optics with FM radio. "Radio stations have to broadcast at a certain frequency," he says. "WFIT, for example, is 89.5 MHz here on the Space Coast. But if you go to Tampa, you will hear a different station broadcasting on 89.5 because the distance between the two stations enables them to operate without interference." The same was true for information sent through fiber optic cables, he notes. Each cable could accommodate a set of frequencies or wavelengths but could use each individual frequency or wavelength only once. Now, through spatial domain multiplexing, the same fiber optic cable can transmit multiple pieces of information at the same wavelength without interference. FASTER NETWORKS 4.1.2 Next-Generation Telecom Network Several scientists, working in collaboration, are laying the groundwork for a new wireless and optical fiber-based telecommunications network that aims to bring reliable, high-speed Internet access to every home and small business in the United States within the next few years. Funded by a five-year, $7.5 million National Science Foundation grant, the "100 Megabits to 100 Million Homes" research project brings together scien- tists from Carnegie Mellon University, Fraser Research, Rice University, the University of California at Berkeley, Stanford University, Internet2, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, and AT&T Research. The coalition believes that the gr