  The exponential growth in the rate at which information can be communicated
through an optical fiber is a key element in the so called information
revolution. However, like all exponential growth laws, there are physical
limits to be considered. The nonlinear nature of the propagation of light in
optical fiber has made these limits difficult to elucidate. Here we obtain
basic insights into the limits to the information capacity of an optical fiber
arising from these nonlinearities. The key simplification lies in relating the
nonlinear channel to a linear channel with multiplicative noise, for which we
are able to obtain analytical results. In fundamental distinction to the linear
additive noise case, the capacity does not grow indefinitely with increasing
signal power, but has a maximal value. The ideas presented here have broader
implications for other nonlinear information channels, such as those involved
in sensory transduction in neurobiology. These have been often examined using
additive noise linear channel models, and as we show here, nonlinearities can
change the picture qualitatively.
