Enhanced XR Services: Performance Analysis with Integration of Passive Optical Networks (PONs)

eXtended Reality (XR) is a potential use case over 5G and beyond 5G (B5G) technology. For this, in addition to 5G native quality of service (QoS) classes, the access network needs further development to meet the strict performance requirements for XR traffic in terms of reliability, capacity, and latency. In this paper, we investigate the potential of passive optical network (PON) technologies to provide better support for XR services. The considered PON system can provide significantly smaller latency and better bandwidth utilization (BWU), strengthening the overall performance of XR. We have used the XR traffic model as defined by the 3GPP specification. An IPACT-based DBA scheme in a PON system has been simulated to estimate mean packet delay for the upstream direction for XR traffic. We have analyzed five simulation-based cases to get insight into how the PON system influences the quality of experience (QoE) for XR services. This analysis has allowed us to calculate the number of XR devices supported by the considered method and BWU under a defined delay bound. We have also compared them with the wireless-based XR services' MTP latency.