Convergence of optical and radio access networks

Until a few years ago, optical access networks in point-to-multipoint (P2MP) technology were mainly used to provide services to end-users and business customers. On the other hand, dedicated optical links in point-to-point (P2P) technology were typically carried to cellular base-stations. So far, P2MP optical networks have not been used in cellular networks. With the arrival of fifth-generation (5G) cellular networks, with their extremely high-performance requirements and the concept of a huge number of small cells, mobile operators are facing the new challenge of how to connect a growing number of base-stations to the network that would ensure sufficient capacity with a sufficiently low latency and cost efficiency. This article provides an overview and analysis of currently available and future optical technologies that will be able to solve the challenge of the convergence of optical access networks (OANs) and radio access networks (RANs). It is critical for telecom network operators to ensure that interconnect-technology costs do not negate the savings that derive from a centralized cellular architecture (C-RAN).