The first fiber optic cables (see also: Coaxial Cable) most people saw was in decorative lamps sold at stores like Spencer Gifts at
the Battlefield Mall in the 1970s. They were typically on the same shelf as
lava lamps. A group of fibers was tied together at one end and splayed out in a
fan at the other. A bulb at the tied end illuminated them, and the Light emerging from the loose ends made them glitter.
It was not until 1977 that, within a month, first GTE and then AT&T ventured
down into manholes and stuck fiber optic cables into Telephone circuits carrying live traffic. Though the technology primitive by the
standards of today, for the most part the cable worked flawlessly. Today the fourth
generation of fiber optics is being installed by the telephone companies. The
rate of change is slower now, but it is amazing how far the technology has
advanced in approximately twenty years.