Design of Long-Reach TDM/WDM Passive Optical Access Networks

Due to the increasing traffic demand and coverage requirements in the access domain, Long-Reach Passive Optical Network (LR-PON) using hybrid TDM/WDM techniques represents a promising candidate solution. The hybrid multiplexing allows an efficient use of wavelengths' capacity through sharing among several users in the time domain. However, it is still an open issue which transmission technology (DWDM transmitters, colorless transmitters, coherent detection, direct-detection) could serve better in a long reach access network according to its requirements and characteristics. In this paper we propose a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) formulation that optimizes the choice among different transmission technologies, operating at diverse line rates, and different splitting ratios of the remote nodes, taking into account the constraints enforced by the available bandwidth and power budget. Through this formulation, it is possible to identify the most cost-effective transmission technology for wide set of possible LRPON scenarios of interest.