In a ring network comprising a plurality of nodes and a 16 channel coarse wavelength-division multiplexing (CWDM) plan, a technique is disclosed for adding and dropping channels that reduces the maximum attenuation loss that any channel encounters--thereby enabling longer rings to be constructed without using optical amplifiers in the ring. The 16 channels are typically distributed between the wavelengths 1310 1610 nm with 20 nm separation between channels. It is obscured that glass fibers have gradually decreasing loss at longer wavelengths in this band. The network includes a hub and several nodes that are interconnected by optical fibers in a ring configuration, where distance from the hub is the minimum value measure in either the clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Channels are assigned to the various nodes based on their wavelength. The channels whose wavelengths are near 1310 nm are assigned to nodes that are progressively closer to the hub.