Visible lasers are destined to play a major role in the telecommunicat
ions industry of the future, particularly in data storage and display
technologies for high-visibility terminals. Fibre lasers offer advanta
ges over other devices in terms of range of colours available, output
quality, efficiency and practicality. This paper reviews the state-of-
the-art of the available practical visible laser technologies, concent
rating particularly on visible fibre lasers.