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WASHINGTON, DC-Several telecommunications companies recently teamed up with US Government agencies to demonstrate the first operational fiber-optic network for advanced voice, video, and data transmission. The optical ring network linked three government sites in Washington DC: the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The ring successfully carried data and full-motion video, including secure high-definition television (HDTV), at speeds of 2.5 GB/s. The demonstration as part of a program called Multiwavelength Optical Networking Technology (MONET), commissioned by DARPA, defines the best way to achieve optical networking that will serve government and commercial applications on a national scale.