Coexistence of access and backbone networks with sensor systems

In recent years, new applications as distributed fiber-optic sensing or precise time transfer have been widely studied and developed. Especially, with the growing interest for smart cities sensor networks have been developed intensively. Currently, individual optical fibers are mostly used for individual applications which is very inefficient and uneconomical, especially for longer distances. Moreover, construction of new routes for individual applications is often impossible. It is therefore necessary to use either dark fibers or sharing of a single fiber for multiple applications. Whereas the most of current and newly built access networks are based on optical fiber it is possible to find optical fiber almost everywhere – in city centers, along roads, etc. And since a usable bandwidth of a standard single mode optical fiber is sufficiently large it is appropriate to consider the possibility of coexistence. We performed simulations and experimental measurements to analyze requirements of individual applications and to confirm suitability of coexistence of sensor systems and 1.25 Gbps data transmission in a single optical fiber.