In this paper we study the propagation of optical pulses by the finite differences method in a ridge waveguides structured for applications in optical transmission systems in the region of 1.55 μm. With the transformation of Maxwell’s equations its discrete formulation, for the system under study, and the appropriate boundary conditions was implemented an algorithm in Matlab that enables to visualize the behavior of the pulse when it propagates in the geometry of the waveguide studied. Variations in simulation were made in the wavelength, width of the core and the refractive index materials with which the results obtained were consistent with those reported in the literature. This study allows proposing an appropriate geometry and materials for making waveguides for applications in optical communications systems.