Optical performance specification and measurement of local loop passive optical networks

British Telecom is currently undertaking local loop optical field trials at Bishops Stortford in the UK. During the trial the performance of two types of optical network architecture, the switched star and the passive optical network, will be compared. The authors detail the performance specifications and subsequent verification measurements for the passive optical network architecture. Performance modeling techniques are described from which the optical system power budget is derived together with the network component specifications. The authors also describe the procedures developed for optical test equipment which is used for confidence testing during installation and commissioning. The measurements are then used to confirm the accuracy of the optical network model