Low-Latency TDM-PON for 5G Xhaul

As 5G networks gain momentum towards commercial deployments, TDM-PON can provide an efficient, cost-effective transport to carry radio signals between processing entities of the 5G Radio Access Network (RAN). However, specifically for the fronthaul segment of the RAN, the low-latency requirements are challenging to support with existing TDM-PON operation. In this paper, we present an analysis of the TDM-PON latency and some of the techniques to support low-latency traffic with bandwidth efficiency.