We discuss the propagation of nonlinear optical pulses in dispersive media in the presence of inhomogeneities. Two kinds of inhomogeneities are considered, one arising due to radial variation of the refractive index of the medium and the other due to boundary conditions at the medium boundary, i.e., at the radius of an optical fiber. The wave equation is solved in the presence of these effects, taking an average of the radial dependence. It is shown that inhomogeneities have a remarkable influence on the dispersive properties of the medium, and even at normal dispersion, ’’light’’ pulses can be used for soliton transmission. Numerical results are obtained for a Nd : glass laser (&lgr;=1.06 &mgr;m) propagating in SiO2glass.