An optical fiber includes a monolithic elongated mosaic core having a longitudinal axis and configured with a silica-based medium with a uniform refractive index, and a plurality of coaxial elongated individual elements which do not waveguide light at a given wavelength and are received in the silica-glass medium. The refractive indices of the medium and individual anti- waveguiding elements together determine a cumulative effective refractive index of the mosaic core. The optical fiber further includes at least one cladding surrounding the mosaic core and provided with a cladding refractive index which is lower than the index of the mosaic core, so that the mosaic core waveguides the light at the given wavelength.