Fiber-dispersion compensation techniques in optical/wireless systems

Carrier frequencies of point-to-multipoint systems are pushed into the higher microwave (MW) or millimeter-wave (mmW) range due to the increasing demand for broadband services and growing number of new subscribers as well as due to lack of sufficiently wide unused radio channels in traditional communication frequency bands. High free space loss of MM wave frequencies reduces the lengths of the wireless links in the radio access part of these systems. Therefore the need for involving fiber-optical techniques in point-to-multipoint systems becomes evident. Optical transmission and distribution of signals up to the last mile offer several advantages. In such combined optical/wireless systems the base stations are connected to the central station through optical fibers. Subscribers are accessed by only few hundred meters long wireless links in the picocells employing MM wave carriers.