Achievements of COST 266 Action and further prospects in research of advanced infrastructure for photonic networks

In spite of continuing stagnation in the telecommunication industry in general and in building new optical networks in particular, research in this area continues unabated. There are still many issues to be resolved in order to create advanced infrastructures based on new photonic technologies. COST 266 Action results achieved in the research of advanced infrastructures for photonic networks are reviewed and further prospects of research in this area are discussed.