On the capacity of a hybrid broadcast multiple access system for WDM networks

A previously designed architecture that endows a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) optical network with network management capabilities is studied from an information theoretic perspective. The central component of this system is a degraded Σ-interference channel, which combines a multiple access channel and two degraded broadcast channels. Inner and outer bounds for the capacity region are derived for a general discrete memoryless model and a Gaussian model and are shown to provide a complete solution for the symmetric problem. Comparisons are drawn between the coding technique suggested by our information theoretic analysis and the coding method used in a working implementation.