<s>
A	O
gigabit	B-Protocol
interface	I-Protocol
converter	I-Protocol
(	O
GBIC	B-Protocol
)	O
is	O
a	O
standard	O
for	O
transceivers	O
,	O
first	O
defined	O
in	O
1995	O
and	O
commonly	O
used	O
with	O
Gigabit	O
Ethernet	O
and	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
for	O
some	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
offering	O
a	O
standard	O
,	O
hot	B-Device
swappable	I-Device
electrical	O
interface	O
,	O
a	O
single	O
gigabit	O
port	O
can	O
support	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
physical	O
media	O
,	O
from	O
copper	O
to	O
long-wave	O
single-mode	B-Device
optical	I-Device
fiber	I-Device
,	O
at	O
lengths	O
of	O
hundreds	O
of	O
kilometers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
smaller	O
variation	O
of	O
the	O
GBIC	B-Protocol
called	O
the	O
small	B-Protocol
form-factor	I-Protocol
pluggable	I-Protocol
transceiver	I-Protocol
(	O
SFP	O
)	O
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
mini-GBIC	B-Protocol
,	O
has	O
the	O
same	O
functionality	O
but	O
in	O
a	O
smaller	O
form	O
factor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Announced	O
in	O
2001	O
,	O
it	O
largely	O
made	O
the	O
GBIC	B-Protocol
obsolete	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
appeal	O
of	O
the	O
GBIC	B-Protocol
standard	O
(	O
and	O
hot-swappable	B-Device
transceivers	O
in	O
general	O
)	O
in	O
networking	O
equipment	O
,	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
fixed	O
physical	O
interface	O
configurations	O
,	O
is	O
its	O
flexibility	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Where	O
multiple	O
different	O
optical	O
technologies	O
are	O
in	O
use	O
,	O
an	O
administrator	O
can	O
purchase	O
GBICs	B-Protocol
as	O
needed	O
,	O
not	O
in	O
advance	O
,	O
and	O
they	O
can	O
be	O
the	O
specific	O
type	O
needed	O
for	O
each	O
link	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
GBIC	B-Protocol
standard	O
is	O
non-proprietary	O
and	O
is	O
defined	O
by	O
the	O
Small	O
Form	O
Factor	O
committee	O
in	O
document	O
number	O
8053i	O
.	O
</s>
