RACE Project R1030, ACCESS-a system study of the broad-band subscriber loop

The ACCESS project, which is a project within the RACE (Research in Advanced Communication in Europe) program, is described. The scope of the project is to study the entire customer access connection, including the transmission, the multiplexing, and the passive optical network. The goal of the project is to perform an overall cost optimization, leading to one or more preferred implementations. Because the project is oriented toward the early phases of the integrated broadband network, the majority of the effort is spent on optimization and supplementation of present near-commercial technologies. The project involves 13 partners who share the work organized in three major areas, namely, the 622 Mb/s transmitter/receiver unit for bidirectional transmission on one single-mode (SM) fiber at 1330 and 1550 nm; the passive optical components, including mass splicing techniques, low-cost connectors, wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) devices, optical distribution frames, and optical cables; and system aspects of the frame structure and the interfaces to the customer premises network and to the exchange, with the associated functional units being the multiplexers and the broadband channel selector.<
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