<s>
In	O
1977	O
a	O
technical	O
trial	O
took	O
place	O
between	O
Hitchin	O
and	O
Stevenage	O
in	O
Hertfordshire	O
,	O
UK	O
,	O
to	O
demonstrate	O
that	O
optical	B-Architecture
fibre	I-Architecture
was	O
capable	O
of	O
transmitting	O
high	O
speed	O
data	O
over	O
large	O
distances	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
idea	O
of	O
fibre	B-Architecture
optics	I-Architecture
as	O
a	O
communication	O
medium	O
was	O
a	O
topic	O
that	O
many	O
physicists	O
worldwide	O
had	O
been	O
discussing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Hitchin-Stevenage	O
trial	O
demonstrated	O
to	O
the	O
world	O
that	O
fibre	B-Architecture
optics	I-Architecture
was	O
a	O
viable	O
technology	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
an	O
important	O
step	O
in	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
modern	O
fibre-optical	O
telecommunications	O
,	O
ultimately	O
leading	O
to	O
a	O
Nobel	O
Prize	O
in	O
Physics	O
for	O
Charles	O
Kao	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
STL	O
scientists	O
developed	O
components	O
and	O
optimised	O
the	O
design	O
of	O
optical	B-Architecture
fibres	I-Architecture
in	O
association	O
with	O
STC	O
(	O
Standard	O
Telephones	O
and	O
Cables	O
)	O
Ltd	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
route	O
also	O
happened	O
to	O
cross	O
a	O
railway	O
line	O
and	O
a	O
Motorway	O
,	O
which	O
gave	O
further	O
credence	O
to	O
the	O
robustness	O
of	O
optical	B-Architecture
fibres	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
