A Remotely Reconfigurable Remote Node for Next-Generation Access Networks

A remotely reconfigurable remote node (RN) for next-generation (NG) access networks is proposed and demonstrated. The RN is remotely reconfigured by instantaneous optical powering at the central office through feeder fiber and maintained in a passive state by employing optical latching switches (OLSs). The feasibility of the proposed RN is demonstrated by investigating the operating conditions of optical powering for the reconfiguration and its nonlinear effect both for time-division-multiplexing passive optical network (TDM-PON) as legacy services and wavelength-division-multiplexing passive optical network (WDM-PON) as NG services. The existence of OLSs for reconfigurability and crosstalk effect between TDM-PON and WDM-PON are negligible on transmission performance.