Passive Optical Networks (PONs) have been demonstrated to be cost-attractive approach for the deployment of Fiber-In-The-Loop systems (FITL) having POTS services capability. In the future these systems must be able to carry broadband services in ATM format as defined by CCITT. The present paper describes an ATM-based PON (APON) and presents the results of feasibility tests for the most critical parts of the system: high-speed medium access protocol for upstream transmission (TDMA), burst mode clock synchronization technique and high- speed electro-optic transceivers applicable to burst mode transmission. System design options such as the downstream and upstream bit rates, the sharing factor and the multiplexing technique used for the bidirectional transport of ATM cells are discussed. Issues such as analog CATV services delivery and the provision of digital video-on-demand (VOD) are covered as well.

Date Published: 2 February 1993
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 1786, Fiber Networks for Voice, Video, and Multimedia Services, (2 February 1993); doi: 10.1117/12.139299

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1786:
Fiber Networks for Voice, Video, and Multimedia Services
Aleksander T. Futro; Lynn D. Hutcheson; Howard L. Lemberg, Editor(s)