Disclosed is an optical fiber (20) having a centermost laterally-elongated core (30) having a short dimension (a), a long dimension (b) and a first refractive index (n₁), a moat (40) surrounding the central laterally-elongated core, the moat (40) having a second refractive index (n₂), an outer dimension (c) and an outer dimension (d), and a cladding (50) surrounding the moat (40), the cladding (50) having a third refractive index (n₃), wherein n₁n₃n₂, a ratio of b/a is between 1.5 and 5.0, and a ratio of d/a is between 2.0 and 7.0. The fiber supports a single (one and only one) polarization within a Single Polarization Band (SPB). The fiber (20) may be coupled to optical components in apparatus where single polarization properties are desired.