  Under certain circumstances, the group velocity in a homogenized composite
medium (HCM) can exceed the group velocity in its component material phases. We
explore this phenomenon for a uniaxial dielectric HCM comprising isotropic
component material phases distributed as oriented spheroidal particles. The
theoretical approach is based upon the Bruggeman homogenization formalism.
Enhancement in group velocity in the HCM with respect to the component material
phases is shown to be sensitively dependent upon the shape of the component
spheroids and their alignment relative to the direction of propagation.
