Next-generation Passive Optical Networks

Research and development on optical networks generally and on Passive Optical Networks (PON) particularly have matured considerably. The exponential increase in the demand for bandwidth has exposed many challenges in the "last mile" that remains the bottleneck in broadband access networks. Currently, Ethernet PON has emerged as the most inexpensive panacea, providing more bandwidth than Cable Modems and Digital Subscriber Lines. Nevertheless, providing fair and efficient Quality of Service (QoS) has always been a major issue due to the un-deterministic nature of Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) technology and the limited 1 Gbps channel speed that EPON relies on; unlike backbone networks that uses the Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) technology. This book instruments these challenges and issues and offers effective solutions. More specifically, it presents an upgrade from a TDM-PON to a Hybrid TDM/WDM-PON and proposes and validates the first framework that enables for per-stream QoS protection in EPON using a new fair QoS scheduler. The book addresses professionals in optical and access networks. It is also directed towards researchers who would like to get a novel fragrance of EPONs.