Comparative evaluation of fibre-optic architectures for next-generation distributed antenna systems

The growing relevance of wireless communications has been driving the research and development of advanced network architectures to enable the cost-effective support of large numbers of users at very high data rates. In this context, the FUTON project aims to fulfil the objectives of the so-called 4th Generation (4G) through an innovative Distributed Antenna System (DAS) with centralized signal processing. The DAS is best supported with optical fibre as the transmission medium, consequently requiring an analysis of the most suitable fibre-optic architecture to interconnect its network elements. This paper compares candidate fibre-optic architectures for FUTON, or similar DAS, in terms of their network elements, power budget and relative cost.