Panasonic, the leading brand by which Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is generally known, today announced the development of the 850 nm AlGaAs/GaAs VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) capable of high speed 12.5 Gbps modulation at low operating current of 8 mA. This laser will be used for a low-cost optical communication such as plastic fiber communication and spatial light transmission.