Fiber optics technology was invented in several countries in the 20th century, but the first practical fiber optic communication system was developed by a team of researchers at the British company Standard Telecommunications Laboratories (STL) in 1966. The team was led by Charles Kao, a Chinese-born physicist who was working at STL's Harlow laboratory in England at the time. Kao's work on the optical properties of glass fibers led to the development of a method for transmitting light signals through long distances of glass fibers. This breakthrough paved the way for the development of modern fiber optic communication systems, which have revolutionized telecommunications and have many other important applications in industries such as medicine, defense, and transportation.
