Experimental demonstration of SCM-PON monitoring with baseband embedded OTDR

The fibre and wireless convergence in access network is motivating the use of different technologies in order to enable the fifth generation mobile communications (5G). On this scope, the combination of subcarrier multiplexing (SCM) and passive optical networks (PON) can provide an efficient and cost-effective solution for the transportation of different radio access technologies (RAT). Moreover in order to reduce the operational expenditure (OPEX), a reliable monitoring technique should provide in-service, rapid and detailed evaluation of the physical layer. Here, we perform the experimental demonstration of an SCM-PON system with baseband embedded optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) monitoring. Based on the long term evolution (LTE) downlink test model (E-TM 3.1) our results show a negligible power penalty while achieving a ~12dB dynamic range (DR) with 10-meters spatial resolution.