SAN DIEGO -- Sempra Communications, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE), today unveiled new technology to tackle the telecommunications industry's "last mile" problem -- getting fiber-optic cable from outlying networks into buildings -- by utilizing the national network of natural gas distribution pipelines. Sempra Communications has invented a proprietary, patent-pending process to place fiber-optic cables into the existing infrastructure of natural gas pipelines. It will market the technology through a new subsidiary called Sempra Fiber Links. "Demand for broadband service in metropolitan areas is greater than ever," said Donald E. Felsinger, group president of Sempra Energy. "The most significant obstacle to meeting that demand is the laying of fiber-optic cable under city streets -- traditionally a slow, costly and disruptive process. With our cleaner, quicker and less expensive process, enhanced services and new revenue streams will flourish." Sempra Communications