Success PON demonstrator: experimental exploration of next-generation optical access networks

The deployment of passive optical networks for broadband access has been largely recognized as a promising solution to open the first-/last-mile bottleneck. We propose and demonstrate a new hybrid TDM/WDM PON architecture that jointly serves multiple physical PONs to enjoy statistical multiplexing gain as well as cost sharing. This article describes design and implementation issues of the key building blocks, including fast tunable lasers, burst-mode receivers, and scheduling algorithms with quality of service support. A prototype testbed is constructed, and transmission experiments are performed to show the effectiveness of the integrated system. Coexistence with current PONs and future evolutional paths are described as well. Experimental explorations of the new network architecture involve advanced photonic and electronic subsystems, which inspires developments of the next-generation optical access networks.