The architecture of a ring based TDM PON to improve survivability and robustness

With the advent of fiber-to-the home (FTTH), fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) and fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) as part of a access network solutions in recent times, the network service providers have started deploying tree based passive optical networks (PONs). However these PONs might not be enough to satisfy the need of scalability and the survivability of the network. In this paper, we propose the use of “Variable Optical Power Splitter” (VOPS) in the Remote Node of a ring based EPON. The transmitted power entering this passive VOPS can be adjusted depending on the distance from an optical line terminal and the number of users required at a particular remote node which ensures the ease of scalability of the network. On the other hand, the ring architecture provides extra protection to enhance the overall survivability of the network. Finally, we provide a detailed calculation of the network availability for the proposed network while maintaining the user data delivery quality in terms of BER as well as the power budget.