Converged optical-wireless access networks enabling fixed and 60 GHz connectivity in WDM-PONs

Abstract

Future broadband access networks in the 5G framework will need to be bilateral, exploiting both optical and wireless technologies. This paper deals with new approaches and synergies on radio-over-fiber (RoF) technologies and how those can be leveraged to seamlessly converge wireless technology for agility and mobility with passive optical networks for stability, extended coverage and ultra-high speeds. The proposed convergence paradigm is based upon a holistic network architecture mixing mm-wave wireless access with photonic integration, dynamic capacity allocation and network coding schemes to enable high bandwidth fixed and 60GHz wireless personal area communications for gigabit rate per user. We have evaluated the link between the central office (CO) and the access point module (APM) of the proposed architecture by using both SCM OOK-SSB and BPSK modulation formats obtaining error free transmission for 40 km and 15 km respectively for power penalties below 2 dB while the concept was investigated for data rates up to 2.5 Gb/s and SC frequencies up to 60 GHz. In parallel a new optical network coding scheme is reported and demonstrated for SCM-based signalling to enhance bandwidth utilization and facilitate optical-wireless convergence in 5G applications.