The modulation performance of lead-salt laser diodes suitable for mid-infrared fibre optic communication systems has been investigated. The electron and photon lifetime for a PbCdS laser have been determined to 3.1 ns and 3.3 ps, respectively. Moreover, an experiment using short lengths of fluoride fibres shows the feasibility of GHz fibre optic communication links in the mid-infrared region using lead-salt lasers if the potential ultra-low loss of mid-infrared optical fibres can be realized.