A chromatic-dispersion compensator comprises a plurality of dispersive elements (Q in number. Q2) each exhibiting a dispersion characteristic D () that varies substantially as a polynominal function of wavelength, the polynomial function being of an order (P-2) greater than 0, the dispersion characteristics being displaced in wavelength relative to each other such that the compensator has a net Pth-order dispersion characteristic D_p that is non-zero and does not vary substantially with wavelength an operating bandwidth.