A hybrid optical fiber integrates features of multimode optical fibers and single-mode optical fibers. The hybrid optical fiber possesses an optical core having a first core region and a second core region to provide improved optical mode coupling ratio for single-mode transmission while maintaining a broad bandwidth for multimode transmission. The hybrid optical fiber's optical core may optionally include a depressed trench positioned between the optical core's first core region and the optical core's second core region to reduce modal dispersion and to improve modal bandwidth during multimode transmissions.