Bandwidth utilisation options for passive optical networks

The design of PON systems for integration into today´s access networks presents many unique problems. The authors consider one of these areas, the design of the PON bandwidth architecture for the support of services and operations and maintenance information. Investigations into options for the architecture of PON bandwidth reveal that there are many available solutions each with their own merits. The authors describe some of the available options and discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of each plus their effect on system architecture