Abstract: For the individual control of optical switches that lie in the light waveguide path of light-carrying useful signals and control signals, each optical switch in the light waveguide is preceded by an optical demultiplexer for extracting that portion of the light that carries a control signal formed with a switch address and with a switch instruction and which is transmitted together with the light carrying the useful signal in a tight wavelength division multiplex method. The optical control signal is supplied via an opto-electrical transducer to a decoder that allows the appertaining switch instruction to take effect at an optical switch only given receipt of the switch address of the appertaining optical switch. The optical components can be combined on an integrated optics module which carries an integrated circuit module for the electrical components.