Optical amplification will play an important role in multigigabit IM/DD long-haul optical transmission systems. Modulation techniques for these systems will need to be designed for maximum tolerance to fiber dispersion.This paper compares the tolerance to fiber chromatic dispersion of several representative modulation techniques and discusses the impact of these modulation techniques on the performance of longhaul systems using optical amplifier repeaters. A 12-Gb/s transmission experiment using an Er-doped fiber amplifier is also described.