A variable dispersion slope compensator with a high-accuracy and a
low-cost structure for compensating the dispersion slope compensation
error accompanying variations in the zero-dispersion wavelength in
transmission fibers in long-distance, high-speed WDM (wavelength division
multiplexing) transmission systems. When the value by which the optical
fiber dispersion slope (ps/nm/nm/km) is divided by the dispersion
coefficient (ps/nm/km) is defined as the relative dispersion slope RDS
(/nm), then the variable dispersion slope compensator includes a first
dispersion compensation fiber group including at least two dispersion
compensation fibers with a common relative dispersion slope; and a second
dispersion compensation fiber group including at least two dispersion
compensation fibers with a common relative dispersion slope different
from the relative dispersion slope of the first group; and a patch cable
group or an optical switching group for making an optional connection
combination between the first and second dispersion compensation fiber
groups.