CHAPTER ONE

Access Network Technologies

1.1 introductions
Optical fibre access to the user, the so-called Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH), is becoming a
mature concept and a reality in many regions of the globe, with more than 8 millions
homes already connected, in an exponential growth. As it is widely accepted, FTTH is the
only future-proof technology that will be able to support the upcoming interactive
multimedia services, and nowadays operators are planning to substitute the existing
telephone-line-based systems (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line ADSL, Plain Old
Telephone Service POTS) or cable systems (Cable Television CATV) per optical fibre.
First, point-to-point fibre links; recently, the more advanced point-to-multipoint Passive
Optical Networks (PON) are being deployed to implement FTTH cur-rently in Asia and
USA mainly. The first generation PONs (Broadband PON, Gigabit PON, Ethernet PON)
have been recently standardized, offering symmetrical Gigabit/s bandwidth typically
shared among few tens of users.
In future, further generations of PONs will be available (in the same way as we have had
multiple generations of Digital Subscriber Line, DSL) and there will be drivers to deploy
some of them aiming towards higher capacity, lower cost, newer services and Quality of
Service (QoS) diversification.
This document focuses onto discussion of the technical options for next generation PONs
(ngPONs) and aims at proposing and analyzing new architectures as well as enabling
technologies. True-broadband access (10/100 Mbps) may drive the telecommunications
sector again towards relevant positions in terms of social and economic development. If
-with the advanced techniques proposed- operators can implement a gradual upgrade-path
to their infrastructure from a basic one that is probably already deployed to an all-optical
network, the development can be effectively done.
The main focus of the report is on very high-density scalable broadband-for-all access
networks, for scenarios where the scalability and the continuous growth of the fibre
network is an essential requirement for the operator business plan.
This may occur in fibre-limited or saturated areas and also where the long term cost
effectiveness drives a green-field deployment. Thus, current approaches like current pointto-point fibre-rich plants or standardized Time Division Multiplexed (TDM).

1.2 Network Technologies

In order to support the service applications enumerated, a number of network technologies
are proposed, each with advantages and drawbacks.
Before going any further, it must be noted that the actual transporting is done by what is
known as bandwidth, which refers not only to the quantity of data it can carry, but also to
the speed at which the signals travel; bandwidth is measured in megabits or gigabits per
second (abbreviated Mb/s, Mbps or Mbit/s, and Gb/s, Gbps or Gbit/s, respectively; Mb/s
and Gb/s will be used herein).
One way of appreciating the efficiency of broadband access technologies is to illustrate, for
each architecture the product of the bandwidths speed and the reach of the signal it carries.
This is measured in Mb/s x km. Figure 1.1 shows the speed at which current technologies
runs.
Many types of PONs have been defined
APON

ATM PON

BPON

Broadband PON

GPON

Gigabit PON

EPON

Ethernet PON

GEPON Gigabit Ethernet PON

CPON

CDMA PON

WPON

WDM PON

BPON is explained in ITU-T G.983.x

GPON is explained in ITU-T G.984.x

EPON is explained in IEEE 802.3-2005 clauses 64 and 65in this course we will
focus on GPON and EPON (including GEPON) with a touch of BPON thrown in for
the flavor

Figure 1.1 Speed at which current technologies runs

The development of the single mode optical fiber, with its almost unlimited bandwidth,
opened the door to massive deployment of long-haul and metropolitan point-to-point(P2P)
fiber optic networks. The use of fiber-optic cable, rather than copper cable, resulted in
three important changes:
Massive capacity increase
Significant cost reductions (equipment, operation and maintenance)
Greatly improved quality of service (QoS)
presents examples of fiber-optic P2P networks and shows some of the techniques that have
been used to increase their capacity. Originally, a single channel was carried over each
optical fiber using a single wavelength. Since no amplification was used, the length of each
optical link was limited to approximately 100 km with sufficient optical power. The advent
of wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) made it possible to carry many channels
(each using a different wavelength) over a single fiber, without cross-interference. Dense

wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) further increased this capacity, allowing even

more wavelength channels.
In addition, the use of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), which amplify optical
signals directly, without optical-electrical-optical conversion, allowed for the construction
of long-haul P2P networks with few or no electronic components.
Metropolitan-area networks (MANs) are also fiber-based and make use of lower-cost
coarse wavelength-division multiplexing (CWDM) to transmit multiple channels (typically
18 over low-water-peak fiber) per fiber over relatively short P2P links.
Although most access networks serving small businesses and residential customers are still
copper-based, subscribers in a few countries around the world have a P2P fiber-optic
connection to a central office (CO). this requires a dedicated optical line terminal (OLT) at
the CO, as well as a pair of optical fibers for each subscriber where an optical network unit
(ONU) is connected to the fiber pair.
In spite of its advantages, optical fiber has not been widely used in the last mile (i.e., the
segment of the network that extends from the CO directly to the subscriber). Because of
the high cost and limited availability of optical access services, this segment is typically
copper-based and the high-speed services available to residential clients and small
businesses are limited to generic digital subscriber lines (xDSL) and hybrid fiber coax
(HFC).
The main alternative to fiber optics wireless transmission with direct broadcast service
(DBS) requires an antenna and a receiver. Therefore, current services present the following
shortcomings:
They provide limited bandwidth in a context where there is an explosive growth in demand
for more bandwidth, higher-speed services and longer reach.
They use different media and transmission equipment requiring multiple installations and
extensive maintenance.
They allow carriers to provide triple-play (voice, video and data) services and other highspeed interactive applications to residential customers, but they require considerable
compression techniques. Copper net-works have a shorter reach, increasing the life-cycle
cost substantially.
Although fiber optics overcomes most of these limitations, one of the obstacles to
providing fiber-optic services directly to residences and small businesses, including small

offices and home offices (SOHOs), has been the high cost of connecting each subscriber to
the CO (i.e., the cost of deploying the fiber cable). A high number of point-to-point (P2P)
connections would require many active components and a high-fiber-count cable, thus
leading to prohibitive installation and maintenance costs, compared to a traditional cop-per
distribution network (which is getting very old and requires maintenance). Figure 1.2
shows different optical fiber connections used in the access network.
While also supporting P2P architecture, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), also called fiber-to-thepremises (FTTP), provides a point-to-multipoint (P2MP) connection that offers an
attractive solution to these problems. With FTTH P2MP PONs, there are no active
components between the CO and each subscriber, allowing several subscribers to share the
same connection. This is accomplished by using one or more passive splitters to connect,
in some cases, up to 32 subscribers to the same feeder fiber. This P2MP architecture
dramatically reduces the network installation, management, and maintenance costs.
Each OLT at the CO is connected through a single feeder fiber to a splitter, which is in turn
connected to all subscribers sharing the available bandwidth. Each subscriber has a
connection to a single fiber, and different wavelengths are used on this fiber for upstream
and downstream transmission of voice and data, as well as downstream video transmission

Figure 1.2 Different optical fiber connections used in the access network

Figure 1.3 FTTH PONs are increasingly installed in new housing, building and businesses
1.3 Historical Development of FTTH
In the mid 90s, a group of international network service providers gathered to develop
standards documents that would eventually define the new fiber-to-the-home passive
optical network. It would allow them to offer cost-effective connections to subscribers,
open a new market, and help incumbent service providers to better compete in their market
by developing standardized equipment. The group created the full-service access network
(FSAN). Furthermore, the US legislature signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to
promote and reduce regulation in order to secure lower prices and higher quality services
for American telecommunications consumers and encourage the rapid deployment of new
telecommunications technology.
This policy as been followed by many other countries around the world.
The International Telecommunication Unions telecommunications standardization sector
(ITU-T) turned FSAN specifications into recommendations. The
FSAN specification for asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)-based PONs became
ITU-T Recommendation G.983.1 in 1998 [see PON-related ITU-T recommendations in
Bibliography].
In 2001, the FTTH Council was formed to promote FTTH in North America and to advise
the US legislature. This resulted in the Broadband Internet Access Act of 2001, which
provides tax incentives to companies that invest in next-generation broadband equipment.

The term broadband denotes an access bandwidth to the user comparable to xDSL and
above; i.e., a few Mb/s and higher. It is expected that the capacity required by new
applications may increase to 1 Gb/s by 2015.
As a result of all these recent developments, interest in FTTH has spurred exponentially:
SOHOs are demanding more bandwidth and more services.
FTTH PON offers the high-bandwidth capability of optical fibers and a wide diversity of
services (data, voice, and video) at a low cost because a number of end users can share
bandwidth on a single fiber, and because all outside plant equipment is passive.
New standards such as those established by the ITU-T and the Institute of Electronic and
Electrical Engineers (IEEE) have greatly increased the design commonality, capacity,
survivability, security and versatility of PONs, opening the opportunity for mass economy
of scale and tremendously lower costs that were not conceivable before.
FTTH PON can now be offered by many different types of carriers:
Incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) and RBOCs
Rural local exchange carriers (RLECs)
CLECs
Utility companies
Municipalities , etc.
FTTH PONs are increasingly installed in new housing (Greenfield) developments (see
Figure 1.3)In addition, many countries in Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and
Taiwan) and Europe are presently testing or deploying PONs, and the IEEE-802.3ah [see
IEEE access network standards in Bibliography] task force has currently drafted standards
an for Ethernet-based PON (EPON). From a world-wide market perspective, PON
revenues surged 240% from 2002 to 2003 to US$ 182 million.
Voice communication over the PON can be provided using conventional switched circuits
or voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP). Similarly, video can be provided using radiofrequency (RF) cable-TV broadcast standards or IPTV (digital TV transmitted using the
Internet protocol; the expression video-over-IP is also used)

Figure 1.4 Architecture for an optical access network

CHAPTER TWO
Fiber to the home (FTTH) networks
Introduction
The growing popularity of the Internet is the key driver behind the development of new
access methods which would enable a customer to experience a true broadband. Amongst
various technologies, the access methods based on the optical fiber are getting more and
more attention as they offer the ultimate solution in delivering different services to the
customers premises.
Three different architectures have been proposed that facilitate the roll out of Fiber-to-theHome (FTTH) infrastructure. Point-to-point Ethernet networks are the most
straightforward and already matured solution.
Different flavors of Passive Optical Networks (PONs) with Time Division Multiplexing
Access (TDMA) are getting more widespread as necessary equipment is becoming
available on the market. The third main contenders are PONs with Wavelength Division
Multiplexing Access (WDMA). Although still in their infancy, the laboratory tests show
that they have many advantages over present solutions.
In this paper we show a brief comparison of these three access methods. In our analysis the
architecture of each solution is presented. The applicability of each system is looked at
from different viewpoint and their advantages and disadvantages are highlighted.
Keywords: Access Networks, Optical Networks, Fiber-To-The-Home
A fibre to the home (FTTH) network constitutes a fibre-based access network, connecting a
large number of end users to a central point known as an access node or point of presence
(POP).
Each access node contains the necessary electronic transmission (active) equipment to
provide the applications and services, using optical fibre to the subscriber. Each access
node, within a large municipality or region, is connected toa larger metropolitan or urban
fibre network.
Access networks may connect some of the following:
fixed wireless network antenna, for example, wireless LAN or WiMAX
mobile network base stations

subscribers in SFUs (single family units) or MDUs (multi-dwelling units)

larger buildings such as schools, hospitals and businesses
key security and monitoring structures such as surveillance cameras, security alarms
and control devices
The FTTH network may form part of a wider area or access network.
2.1. The FTTH network environment
The deployment of fibre closer to the subscriber may require the fibre infrastructure to be
located on public and/or private land and within public and/or private properties.
Not only does each physical environment constitute different subscriber dwelling densities
(per sq km), but country conditions must also be taken into account.
The nature of the site will be a key factor in deciding the most appropriate network design
and architecture. Types include:
Greenfield new build where the network will be installed at the same time as the
buildings
Brownfield buildings are already in place but the existing infrastructure is of a low
standard
overbuild adding to the existing infrastructure The main influences on the method of
infrastructure deployment are:
type of FTTH site
size of the FTTH network
initial cost of the infrastructure deployment (CAPEX)
running costs for the network operation and maintenance (OPEX)
network architecture, for example PON or Active Ethernet
local conditions, for example, local labour costs, local authority restrictions (traffic
control) and others.
The choice of fibre deployment method and technology will determine CAPEX and
OPEX, as well as the reliability of the network. These costs can be optimised by choosing

the most appropriate active solution combined with the most appropriate infrastructure
deployment methodology.
These methods, which are described later, include:
conventional underground duct and cable
blown micro-ducts and cable
direct buried cable
aerial cable
other right of way solutions
Key functional requirements for a FTTH network include:
provision of high-bandwidth services and content to each subscriber
a flexible network architecture design with capacity to meet future needs
direct fibre connection of each end subscriber directly to the active equipment, ensuring
maximum available capacity for future service demands
support for future network upgrades and expansion
minimal disruption during network deployment, to promote fibre networks gain
acceptance by network owners and to provide benefit to FTTH subscribers
When designing and building FTTH networks, it is helpful to understand the challenges
and tradeoffs facing potential network owners and operators. Some challenges may result
in conflicts between functionality and economic demands.
The FTTH network builder must present a profitable business case, balancing capital
expenses with operating costs while ensuring revenue generation.
2.2. FTTH architecture
In order to specify the interworking of passive and active infrastructure, it is important to
make a clear distinction between the topologies used for the deployment of the fibres (the
passive infrastructure) and the technologies used to transport data over the fibres (the
active equipment) See figure 2.1.

The two most widely used topologies are point-to-multipoint, which is often combined
with a passive optical network (PON) technology, and point-to-point, which typically uses
Ethernet transmission technologies.
Point-to-point topologies provide dedicated fibres between the POP and the subscriber.
Each subscriber has a direct connection with a dedicated fibre. Most existing point-to-point
FTTH deployments use Ethernet, which can be mixed with other transmission schemes for
business applications (e.g. Fibre Channel, SDH/SONET). This topology can also include
PON technologies by placing the passive optical splitters in the access node.
Point-to-multipoint topologies with passive optical splitters in the field are deployed in
conjunction with standardized PON technologies GPON is todays frontrunner in Europe
with EPON being the most popular in Asia making use of time-sharing protocols to
control the access of multiple subscribers to the shared feeder fibre.
Active Ethernet technology can also be used to control subscriber access in a point-tomultipoint topology requiring the placement of Ethernet switches in the field.
2.3. Different fibre termination points
Various access network architectures can be implemented: See figure 2.2
Fibre to the home (FTTH) Each subscriber is connected by a dedicated fibre to a port on
the equipment in the POP, or to the passive optical splitter, using shared feeder fibre to the
POP and 100BASE-BX10 or 1000BASE-BX10 transmission for Ethernet connectivity or
GPON (EPON) in case of point-to-multipoint connectivity. Fibre to the building (FTTB)
each optical termination box in the building (often located in the basement) is connected by
a dedicated fibre to a port in the equipment in the POP, or to an optical splitter which uses
shared feeder fibre to the POP. The connections between subscribers and the building
switch are not fibre but can be copper based and involve some form of Ethernet transport
suited to the medium available in the vertical cabling. In some cases building switches are
not individually connected to the POP but are interconnected in a chain or ring structure in
order to utilize existing fibres deployed in particular topologies. This also saves fibres and
ports in the POP. The concept of routing fibre directly into the home from the POP or
through the use of optical splitters, without involving switches in the building, brings us
back to the FTTH scenario.
Fibre to the curb (FTTC) each switch / or DSL access multiplexer (DSLAM), often found
in a street cabinet, is connected to the POP via a single fibre or a pair of fibres, carrying the

aggregated traffic of the neighborhoods via Gigabit Ethernet or 10 Gigabit Ethernet

connection.
The switches in the street cabinet are not fibre but can be copper based using 100BASEBX10, 1000BASE-BX10 or VDSL2. This architecture is sometimes called Active
Ethernet as it requires active network elements in the field.
they are considered the target architecture due to their virtually unlimited scalability.

2.4 FTTH PON ARCHITECTURES AND TOPOLOGY

Different architectures exist for connecting subscribers to a PON. However, each PON
requires at least the following (see Figure 2.1):
An optical line terminal (OLT) at the CO in P2MP and P2P PONs Video distribution
equipment also at the COA feeder fiber from the CO to a splitter in P2MP PONs (the fiber
is part of a multi fiber cable; one splitter per fiber); a fiber pair for P2P PONs One splitter
per feeder fiber; PONs can use multiple splitters in a cascade or tree design topology (see
Figure 1.9)
Distribution fibers and drop cables between the splitter branches and the optical network
terminals (ONTs) (one distribution fiber/drop cable per ONT); the same feeder fiber (pair)
in P2P PONs An ONT (ONU connected to the UNI) located at each subscribers premises
in P2MP and P2P PONs The feeder, splitter(s), distribution cables and drop cables form the

optical distribution network (ODN) of the P2MP PON. Since one PON typically provides
service to up to 32 subscribers (BPON), many such networks, each originating from the
same CO, are usually required to serve a community.
The OLT at the CO is interfaced with the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and
the Internet (see Figure 2.1). Video signals enter the system from the cable television
(CATV) head-end or from a DBS satellite feed. The video sources can be converted to
optical format by an optical video transmitter,

Amplified and coupled through a wide wavelength-division multiplexing (WWDM)

coupler (not shown in Figure 2.1) to the optical signal from the OLT.
Alternatively, the video signals can be inter-faced with the OLT in digital form for IPTV or
in analog form for overlay. These signals are transmitted down-stream along the same
optical fiber. Voice and data can be transmitted upstream from the ONTs11.
Figure 2.2 shows examples FTTX and Figure 2.3 shows an example of terminal equipment
at the CO The feeder fiber from the CO is brought to a fiber distribution hub (FDH), where
one or more splitters are located; typically, near a group of customers (a km or so). From
that point, one or more passive splitters (depending on the splitter topology) are used to
connect customers. Each customer premises is provided with an ONT. The ONT provides
connections for the different services (voice, Ethernet, and video).
Figure 2.3 illustrates the P2MP PON wavelength allocation based on ITU-T
Recommendation G.983.3 (BPON). The OLT provides voice and data downstream
transmission using a 1490 nm wavelength band, while the ONT provides voice and data
upstream transmission on a 1310 nm wavelength band.
Analog video overlay is also possible using the 1550 nm band. This use of wide
wavelength-division multiplexing (WWDM) allows non-interfering bidirectional
transmission over the same fiber.
The figure also shows the ITU-T bands with corresponding names and wave-length ranges,
as well as the bands enabling different transmission types (CWDM, DWDM, WWDM
PON).

Figure 2.2 Different fibre termination points

ITU-T Recommendation G.983.3 specifies the use of additional wavelength bands, such as
the enhancement band; for a video distribution service (VDS), the enhancement band
covers 1550 to 1560 nm. For additional digital services (ADS), it covers 1539 to 1565 nm.
When the enhancement band is used to provide downstream video overlay on a 1550 nm
wavelength, the VDS must be amplified at the CO using an erbium-doped fiber amplifier
(EDFA). This signal is amplified to high power, typically +21 to +23 dBm, and is then
coupled to the data/voice signal using a WWDM coupler. The coupler classification is
based on IEC 62074-1 (see List of IEC Standards section) and ITU-T Recommendation
G.671. However, if IPTV is used for video, or if no video is transmitted, the EDFA and the
WWDM coupler are not required. In this case, a lower power signal on a single wavelength
(1490 nm) is used for all downstream transmission, while 1310 nm is used for upstream
voice and data transmission. A bidirectional WWDM coupler is still needed for 1490 nm
downstream and 1310 nm upstream signals.

Figure 2.3 illustrates the P2MP PON wavelength allocation

SUMMARY
In this paper the comparison of the main FTTH architectures has been presented. The
common features as well as the differences between three main architectures were outlined.
We showed that although point-to-point Ethernet optical networks have many advantages
their development could be more expensive in the long run that the potential benefits.
It is envisaged that, in the nearest future, access based on the PONs will be dominant.
Primarily because this technology is maturing fast, it allows the total cost to be shared
amongst a larger number of customers. It is predicted that as a number of available HDTV
channels grows even more bandwidth will be required. This could provide an incentive to
quicken the development of FTTH networks based on WDMA mode and significantly
reduce their time to market. Despite being in the laboratory phase, this technology might
become available on the market in the next couple of years. In comparison with other
access technologies such as DSL or Cable, FTTH offers much bigger bandwidth. The main
obstacle faced by network operators are the prohibitive costs of the rolling out the
infrastructure. The massive roll out of FTTH infrastructure in nearest future is difficult to
anticipate in current conditions. The high penetration of existing services and lack of new
killer applications, that would increase the demand for bandwidth, and slower than
expected start of HDTV can be named as major obstacles.

CHAPTER THREE
PASSIVE OPTICAL NETWORKS ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
Example (BPON)
3.1 PON Technology
At the CO, the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and Internet services are
interfaced with the optical distribution network (ODN) via the OLT. In a P2MP PON, the
downstream 1490 nm wavelength and upstream 1310 nm wavelength are used to transmit
data and voice. The downstream 1550 nm wavelength can be used for analog video
overlay. Multiple ONTs are connected to each PON through one or more splitters. In a P2P
system, the voice and data are transmitted on the same 1310 nm wavelength downstream
and upstream because it uses a fiber pair; one fiber downstream and another one upstream.
For analog overlay video, 1550 nm is still used in the same configuration as for P2MP.
Figure 3.1 shows a detailed view of the main components of a PON, and Figure 3.2 shows
an example of the physical-layer P2MP FTTH PON topology.

There are different types of PONs currently being deployed, each based on different
technologies and standards. For P2P PONs, standards specify transmitting different types
of services (voice and data) on the same wavelength over a fiber pair, whereas for P2MP
PONs, two wavelengths with channel spacing wider than 50 nm (i.e., WWDM) are used to
transmit the services over a single fiber. In both cases, this applies to upstream and
downstream transmission. Also, any existing video signal is transported over a different
wavelength (1550 nm), currently in an overlaid analog format.

One of the most mature and currently used PON systems is broadband PON (BPON),
based on the ITU-T G.983 series of recommendations. BPON uses ATM as the transport
protocol (see Table 3.1) with symmetric and asymmetric data rate combinations of 155.52
and 622.08 Mb/s. Later, 1244.16 Mb/s was also added, but for asymmetric downstream
transmission only. BPON transparently transports any type of data, regardless of the type
of data link frame.
Another system that was added on after BPON is Gigabit-capable PON (GPON). GPON is
based on the ITU T G.984 series of recommendations.
It provides a great deal of flexibility, transporting any type of data using ATM and/or
GPON encapsulation method (GEM), which encapsulates different types of data. GPON
provides several possible combinations of upstream and downstream data rates (up to
2488.32 Mb/s downstream) and may use forward error correction (FEC), if required.
Ethernet PON (EPON), on the other hand, is based on the IEEE 802.3ah-2004 specification
developed by the Ethernet in the First Mile Alliance (EFMA) community.
EPON is designed for simplicity and allows packet-based transmission upstream and
downstream at a symmetric rate of 1250 Mb/s (1000 Mb/s nominal) with optional FEC.
The multipoint media access con-trol (MAC) protocol (MPCP) in EPON controls access to
a P2MP architecture (1000BASE-PX10 for up to 10 km reach, and 1000BASE-PX20 for
up to 20 km), making the P2MP network appear to the higher protocol layers as a
collection of P2P links (P2P link emulation).
FEC is used by the transport layer in communication systems and is based on transmitting
data in an encoded format (block-based code). The most common code uses the ReedSolomon format, and is 255 bytes long. It introduces redundancy (adds an extra 16
redundant overhead bits at the end of a constant-size block of 239 data bytes), allowing the
decoder to detect and correct transmission errors (BER from 10 the worst case to an
improved 10-15). FEC can be used with GPON and EPON using Fabry Perot lasers,
especially to reduce sys-tem penalty due to the mode partitioning noise (MPN) typical of
that laser and, consequently, to increase the maximum reach (maximum distance between
the OLT and the ONTs) and/or the split ratio using the same transceiver equipment (but at
the expense of some loss of capacity, as it introduces extra overhead).
For all three types of PONs, downstream voice/data transmission is performed over a
continuous bit stream. Upstream transmission, from one ONT at a time,
is performed either over a delayed or burst bit stream, as shown in Table 3.1.

3.2 Active Equipment

Although passive optical networks (PONs) are consist mostly of passive components, the
following active components are also required (see Figure 3.3):
Located at the CO:
OLT (digital voice/data terminal equipment) using:
1490 nm laser transmitter for P2MP PON; 1310 nm laser transmitter for P2P PON
1310 nm detector receiver Analog video terminal equipment (if analog video overlay is
used) using:
1550 nm laser transmitter
Erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) to amplify the video signalLocated at each
subscribers premises:
ONU using:
Power supply
1310 nm laser transmitter
1490 nm receiver for P2MP PON; 1310 nm receiver for P2P PON
1550 nm receiver for video reception Battery backup (may be located inside or outside
the subscribers premises; may be under the subscribers ownership/responsibility)

The drop fiber is brought to the ONT and the services are delivered inside the premises
using conventional copper cabling, as shown in Figure 3.4. Figure 3.5 shows an example of
an ONT whose power supply contains battery back-up.
The downstream 1490 nm signal is transmitted using a directly modulated thermoelectrically cooled DFB laser. In most cases, the upstream 1310 nm signal is transmitted
using a directly modulated uncooled Fabry-Perot laser.
Analog overlaid video services are converted to optical format at the 1550 nm wavelength
by the optical video transmitter using an externally modulated thermo-electrically cooled
frequency-stabilized DFB laser. At present, there are no plans for upstream video
transmission, though there have been discussions about this at the ITU-T (an amendment
of Recommendation G.983.2 includes a provision for an upstream video return path, which
would certainly be considered for digital and IP video transmissions).
Figure 3.6 shows typical spectra of DFB and Fabry-Perot lasers. DFB lasers are single
longitudinal mode (SLM) lasers with a narrow, one-line spectrum (their spectral width is
down in the 100 kHz to MHz range, when coherence control is provided) and are suitable
for downstream transmission at high bit rates and high power levels for analog video
overlay.
Fabry-Perot lasers, on the other hand, are low-cost but transmit over a broad spectrum.
Because Fabry-Perot lasers are multilongitudinal mode (MLM) lasers, the spectrum is not
SLM or single-frequency but consists of periodic multilines (i.e., the line spacing is equal
to c/2L, where c is the velocity of light in vacuum and L, the length of the laser cavity; the
width of the lines is proportional to the transition time between the lasing energy levels).
3.3 BROADBAND PON
Since the initial rectification by ITU-T in 1998, broadband PON (BPON) has been
deployed in North America by the regional Bell operating companies for both FTTN and
FTTP types of deployment. ITU-T 983.1 specifies the reference architecture, transceiver
characteristics, transport fame structure, and ranging functions in BPON.
In addition, the remaining 983.x standards make explicit recommendations in thefollowing
areas:
G.983.2: ONT management and control interface
G.983.3: third wavelength band for downstream video transmission

G.983.4: dynamic bandwidth assignment

G.983.5: enhanced survivability
G.983.6: control and management interface to support protection feature
Note that user terminals are called optical networking terminals (ONTs) instead of ONUs
in the ITU standards.
In this section, the term ONT is used when referring to BPON or GPON, In the rest of this
section we present details of the BPON standard to guide readers to an understanding of
BPON operation as well as the implications during upgrade from BPON to future PON
systems.
3.3.1 BPON Architecture
Permissible Data Rates The original ITU-T 983.1 standard supported155.52 Mb/s (OC-3)
and 622.08 Mb/s (OC-12) in either the downstream or up-stream direction. Later, a new
1244.16 Mb/s (OC-24) transmission rate is added in response to increasing bandwidth
demand. BPON leaves the choice of a specific combination of downstream and upstream
rates to vendors, and Table 3.2 shows the permissible downstream/upstream data-rate pairs
for BPON.
Wavelength Allocation The original downstream and upstream wavelength plan for BPON
was set at 1260 to 1360 nm (1310 50 nm) and 1480 to 1580 nm(153050 nm),
respectively. One hundred nanometers of bandwidth window was selected to give sufficient
bandwidth after taking into account the fiber dispersive effect and the use of inexpensive
FP laser components for the upstream band. In response to the pressing demand for
broadcast video and data, however, BPON adds an additional downstream band at the
original G.983.1 DS band.

Figure 3.5 shows the wavelength allocation plan for BPON. This wavelength plan is also
used for GPON systems. Two enhancement band options provide the ability to carry analog
TV overlays (option 1: 1550 to 1560 nm) or additional digital services such as
SONET/SDH links for high-bandwidth TDM services (option 2: 1539 to 1565 nm).
Additional wavelength filters must be added to the ONT to support the enhancement band
wavelengths. Additional filter losses and wavelength crosstalk must also be considered in
enhancement-capable systems.
These enhancement filter loss and isolation requirements are specified as part of the G.983
standard.
Video Delivery Architectures Enhancement band option 1 was used in the BPON system to
overlay analog video transmission. Figure 3.6 depicts a common analog video overlay
architecture. In this architecture, video is overlaid in the 1550-nm enhancement band using
a subcarrier multiplexing (SCM) technique. The source of the video is fed from a remote
head end that receives.
. The benefit of this architecture is that users are not required to use anything other than the
traditional analog television. The number of broadcast channels that can be supported is
limited, however. More channels can still be supported under this architecture, but it would
require narrowcast transmission architecture (i.e., the ability to switch the receiving
channels based on user selection). The dotted component in Figure 3.6 further illustrates

narrowcast support in analog video overlay architecture. In this architecture, the user
selects the channel using a set-top box with analog tuning ability, such as a cable set-top
box, to communicate with the head end via Internet

Group management protocol (IGMP). The head end video server then determines the
proper program and thus the RF spectrum to transmit over PON.
With the advent of high-definition (HD) TV, and as demands for in-home distribution of
multimedia contents continue to rise, the analog video transmission model can no longer
sufficiently support the bandwidth scalability and user responsiveness under the new
demands. On the other hand, in-band IP-based video and the multimedia delivery model
address these issues by supporting on-demand content delivery and enable more interactive
capability between a home and a video service provider.
An IP-based solution also has the benefit of converging video with voice and data transmission. Figure 3.7 shows the in-band IP video distribution architecture, in which the ONT
no longer requires a triplex filter. For other than technical reasons, a user needs to obtain a
new set-top box from the video service provider (VSP) to support the video distribution
services via IGMP and/or the video on demand (VOD) protocol. To support fast channel
selection, the VSP builds a hierarchy of VOD servers at the head end and access central
office to cache popular content nearby the users.
The in-band IP-based model is gaining momentum in recent deployments as access

Operators aggressively migrate into providing HDTV to compensate for continuing

revenue erosion in traditional voice and data services.
Where analog video overlay infrastructure is already in place, there is an additional benefit
to employing hybrid IP/analog video delivery architecture. The hybrid infrastructure allows
the operator to support a combined large bandwidth in the PON data and RF overlay
spectrum. Since most subscribers already have an RF-based solution, IP service could be
used additionally to support a narrowcast type of service. Table 3.3 summarizes the pros
and cons of employing each of the three most common video delivery architectures. In
short, IP service is expected to provide better-quality pictures and interactive features, but
at a greater price. In reality, the choice for the specific deployment depends heavily on the
availability of legacy video transmission infrastructure and the market in the particular
community (i.e., the take rate for IP service expected if they were to be deployed).

Interoperability BPON stresses vendor interoperability in system implementations. It is

important because interoperability allows operators to exercise choices in selecting either
OLT or ONU vendors. In particular, an OLT card is expected to be able to support ONTs
implemented from other vendors, and vice versa. In addition, the OLTs should interact with
operators heterogeneous mix of service network interfaces. As a result of the
interoperability requirement, however, the cost of BPON equipment suffers because it has
to implement additional SNI ports that it may not be used in certain deployment scenarios.
3.3.2 BPON Protocol and Service
BPON transport and signaling protocol is specified based on ATM since
telecommunication network operators had had extensive ATM switching infrastructure at
the time that ITU G.983 recommendations were being developed. Besides being a mature
technology, ATM also supports scalable traffic management and robust quality-of-service
(QoS) controls. As a result, BPON protocol is very closely related to ATM networking.
3.3.2.1 ATM Cell and Services
ATM is a circuit-switching technique based on fixed-size 53-byte (53B) packets called
cells. The impetus for a short fixed-size cell is the ability to switch or multiplex quickly
between traffic flows.
This is an important feature during the development of ATM because it is designed
primarily to support voice traffic. Small data cells enable an ATM network to reduce jitter
by multiplexing data streams. In other words, urgent voice cells can be multiplexed within
53B intervals, avoiding the large jitter that could otherwise be incurred by large data cells.
An ATM cell consists of a 48B payload and a 5B header. The 5B header has two types of
format: a usernetwork interface (UNI) and a networknetwork interface (NNI). An ATM
header supports a virtual path identifier (VPI), virtual circuit identifier (VCI), payload-type
indicator (PTI), cell loss priority (CLP), and header error checkb(HEC) (Figure 3.8). The
UNI format also supports a 4-bit (4b) generic flow control (GFC) field. In BPON, the GFC
field is not used and is always set to zero when a
UNI format is used.
The details of the fields are described below.
VPI. A virtual path is a logical bandwidth pipe that can consist of multiple virtual
connections. Depending on whether the ATM cell is sent via a UNI or NNI formatted

header, the VPI header supports either 8b (256) or 12b (4096) virtual path connections. The
G.983 recommendation limits the number of virtual paths to less than 4096.
VCI. Virtual connection is the lowest level of connection defined in an ATM network. VCI
is 16b long and supports up to 65,536 different virtual channels for each virtual path. The
combination of VPI and VCI identifies a unique virtual circuit for the ATM cell in a ATM
port, or in each PON. A virtual circuit is allocated and defined through specified QoS
characteristics.
PTI. PTI is 3b long and the first bit indicates whether the cell is user data (0) or OAM data
(1). The second bit indicates if the cell has experienced congestion (yes =1; no=0) during
its transmission. If the current switch experiences

Congestion switching the cell, the bit is turned to 1. If the cell is OAM data, then third bit
is used for OAM functions. Otherwise, the third bit is used to indicate if the cell is the last
in a series of ATM adaptation layer 5 (AAL5) cells.
ATM defines several AAL layers to support different levels of QoS. AAL5 is used for
packet data communication that could be segmented at the transmitting end and
reassembled at the receiving end in a connectionless service.
CLP. CLP is a 1b field to indicate the priority of the cell. CLP =0 indicates a high priority
and the interim switch must forward the cell with its every effort, even with congestion.
CLP=1 indicates that the interim switch could drop considerably in congestion situations.

An example of a cell labeled as CLP=1 is when the cells represent additional traffic above
the committed information rate (CIR) in a negotiated connection.
HEC. HEC is a 8b checksum to protect the ATM header.
An important characteristic of ATM is its ability to support different levels of QoS.
In ATM networks, five classes of QoS are specified, as summarized in Table 3.4. Each QoS
service class is further characterized by the parameters described below.
According to the service-level agreement (SLA), the following user-rate parameters are
defined in terms of cells per second:
Peak cell rate (PCR): maximum rate at which a user can be allowed to transmit
Sustainable cell rate (SCR): average cell rate measured over a period Minimum cell rate
(MCR): guaranteed transmission rate of a user by a service provider according to the SLA.
In addition to SLA-defined rate parameters, users also negotiate network-related traffic
attributes according to different QoS service classes. These attributes include:
Cell transfer delay (CTD): end-to-end cell delays
Cell delay variation (CDV): measured difference between minimum and max-imum CTD

3.3.2.2 BPON Protocol Layers and Functional Blocks

Figure 3.9 shows the BPON protocol layer structure as defined in the G.983.1
recommendations. The protocol layer structure consists of a physical media dependent
layer (PMD), a path layer, and a transmission convergence layer (TC).
The PMD layer defines the bit rate, line code (NRZ), operating wavelengths, and
transceiver requirements.
In BPON, the path layer corresponds to the ATM virtual path (VP) layer as defined by
ITU-T recommendation I-732. The OLT and ONT in BPON as a whole can be viewed as a
VP switch. G.983.1-specified functions of the OLT and ONT are presented to illustrate the
concept. Figure 3.10 shows the OLT and ONT functional blocks.
Details of the function for these OLT and ONT functional blocks are provided below.
OLT Functional Blocks Service port
OLT service ports interface with an SNI to connect to the core network. The service port
handles the insertion of ATM cells into the up-stream SONET/SDH payloads and retrieval
of ATM cells from the downstream payloads. An additional feature such as protection
switching could also be implemented at the service port level.

Transmission multiplexer(MUX). An OLT MUX provides VP connections between the

service port and the ODN interface. Different VPs are assigned to different services at each
PON. Different information types, such as data, signaling, and OAM flows, are classified
further by VCs of the VP.
ODN interface. The line terminal handles the optoelectronic conversion process.
Moreover, the ODN handles the insertion of ATM cells into the downstream transmission
frames and extraction of ATM cells from the upstream frames.

ONT Functional Blocks User port

ONT user ports interface over UNI to connect to customer terminals.
Transmission multiplexer (MUX) ONT MUX multiplexes service interfaces to the ODN
interface. Only valid ATM cells would pass through the ONT MUX.
ODN interface. This is similar to the ODN interface at OLT. The ODN interface at ONT
handles the optoelectronic conversion process and the conversion of ATM cells to and from
BPON transmission frames. It is worthwhile to note that the interface must acquire
synchronization on the downstream frame bit before transmitting upstream frames.
The Recommendation G.983 series does not specify the functions of VC. However, its use
is left open to vendor implementations. In addition to providing VP switching and
optoelectronic conversion, the OLT and ONT combine to provide OAM functionalities.

Appendix

SUMMARY
In this chapter we present the architecture and protocol for ITU-T BPON, GPON,
standards. A comprehensive and very detailed overview of each systems specifications and
implementation is presented

REFERENCES
1. ITU-T G.984.
2. IEEE 802.3ah.
3. IEEE Standard 802.16-2004,Air Interface for Fixed Broadband Wireless Access
Systems.
4. IEEE Standard 802.16e,Air Interface for Fixed and Mobile Broadband Wireless Access
Systems: Amendment for Physical and Medium Access Control Layers for Combined
Fixed and Mobile Operation in Licensed Bands.
5. A. Bahai and B. Saltzbert,Multi-carrier Digital Communication: Theory and
Applications of OFDM, Kluwer Academic, Norwell, MA, 1999.
6. D. Love and R. Heath, OFDM power loading using limited feedback,IEEE Trans.
Veh.Technol., vol. 54, no. 5, Sept. 2005.
7. H. Moon, Efficient power allocation for coded OFDM systems, Ph.D. dissertation,
Stanford University, Aug. 2004.
8. O. Awoniyi, O. Oteri, and F. Tobagi, Adaptive power loading in OFDM-based WLANs
and the resulting performance improvement in voice and data applications,Proceedings of
the of IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference, Sept. 2005, vol. 2, pp. 789794.
9. Richard Van Nee and Ramjee Prasad,OFDM for Wireless Multimedia Communications,
Artech House, Norwood, MA, 2000.
10. Arunabha Ghosh, David R. Wolter, Jeffrey G. Andrews, and Runhua Chen, Broadband
wireless access with WIMAX current performance benchmarks and future potential,IEEE
Commun., vol. 43, no. 2, Feb. 2005, pp. 129136.
11. G. Nair, J. Chou, T. Madejski, K. Perycz, P. Putzolu, and J. Sydir, IEEE 802.16 medium
access control and service provisioning,Intel Technol. J., vol. 8, Aug. 2004.