Arab Republic of

Egypt
Ministry of
Communication

National Telecommunication
Institute
Professional Training Program

FTTH Access Network Based on GPON

By:
Ahmed Mohammed Saleh
Elsayyed Abd Allah
Mohammed Hamed ElGayyar
Mahmoud Kamel Taha

Under The Supervision of

Dr. Noura Saleh
National Telecommunication Institute
Transmission department

October 2016



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2016

Technical Report Outline

Example
Acknowledgements
Abstract
Table of Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables

Chapter 1 Optical Access Network

1.1 Access network (passive and active optical access networks)
1.2 PON operation
1.2 Evolution of PON Standards (APON/BPON, GPON, EPON and 10GEPON)
1.3 Why Choose GPON for FTTH Access Network?
1.4 Components of GPON-Based FTTH Access Network

Chapter 2 GPON Components

2.1 Optical Line Termination OLT
2.2 Optical Distribution Network ODN (ODF, Cables, splitters)
2.3 Optical Network Unit ONU/ONT

Chapter 3 Proposed
3.1
3.2

Chapter 4 PON test equipments

Chapter 5 Conclusions
References

Ch1: Optical Access

Access network Network

An access network is the part of a telecommunications network which connects

subscribers to their immediate service provider (Central Office). It is contrasted with
the core network and is traditionally called last-mile networks.
The access network may be further divided between feeder plant or distribution
network, and drop plant or edge network. Traditionally, optical fibers have been widely
used in backbone networks because of their huge available bandwidth and very low
loss. However, until the beginning of this century, fiber has not been used as the
technology of last-mile connection.

Technologies for access network

Wired:
Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS)
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Loop (ADSL)
Cable-modems using cable-TV (CATV)
Optical Access Network FTTx
Wireless
Satellite Systems : For Direct broadcast by satellite (DBS)
Cellular networks
Fixed wireless access:
Local Multipoint Distribution System (LMDS)
Multichannel Multipoint Distribution System(MMDS)
WiFi/WiMax
Free space optic FSO(optical wireless)

Fiber access systems are also referred to as fiber-to-the-x (FTTx) system, where x
can be home, building, curb ,premises, etc. as you can see in figure 1.a,
depending on how deep in the field fiber is deployed or how close it is to the user
In a fiber to the home (FTTH) system, fiber is connected all the way from the service
provider to household users. Another variation is (FTTN) fiber to the node; the fiber is
not run all the way to the customer. Instead, it is run to an interim node in the
neighborhood.
In an (FTTC) system, fiber is connected to the curb of a community where the optical
signal is converted into the electrical domain and distributed to end users through
twisted pairs. Therefore, an FTTC system can also be regarded as a hybrid fiber
twisted pair system. FTTx which networks closer to the end users, bring high-capacity
optical fiber appears to be the best candidate for the next-generation access network.
FTTx is considered an ideal solution for access networks because of the inherent
advantages of optical fiber in terms of low cost, huge capacity, small size and weight,
and its immunity to electromagnetic interference and crosstalk.
There are two common systems available in FTTH networks: AON (active optical
network) and PON (passive optical network).

Active Optical Network

The AON arrangement is a point-to-point structure (PTP), meaning that each user has
his own dedicated fiber optical line terminated on an optical concentrator. In an active
optical system, environmentally electrical switching equipment are deployed, such as
a router or a switch aggregator, to manage signal distribution and route data to
proper places. Figure 1.b shows AON and PON systems.

Passive Optical Network (PON)

PON is a telecommunications technology that implements a point-to-multipoint
architecture, in which unpowered Fiber Optic Splitters are used to enable a single
optical fiber to serve multiple end-points such as customers, without having to
provision individual fibers between the hub and customer.

Passive optical networks have both advantages and disadvantages over active
networks.
They avoid the complexities involved in keeping electronic equipment operating
outdoors. They also allow for analog broadcasts, which can simplify the delivery of
analog television. However, because each signal must be pushed out to everyone
served by the splitter (rather than to just a single switching device), the central office
must be equipped with a particularly powerful piece of transmitting equipment called
an optical line terminal (OLT). In addition, because each customer's optical network
terminal must transmit all the way to the central office (rather than to just the nearest
switching device), reach extenders would be needed to achieve the distance from
central office that is possible with outside plant based active optical networks.
So the main disadvantage is a shorter range of coverage limited by signal strength.
While an active optical network (AON) can cover a range to about 100 km (62 miles),
a PON is typically limited to fiber cable runs of up to 20 km (12 miles).
The typical PON arrangement is a point to multi-point (P2MP) network where a central
optical line terminal (OLT) at the service providers facility distributes TV or Internet
service to as many as 16 to 128 customers per fiber line (see the figure).

Optical splitters, passive optical devices that divide a single optical signal into multiple
equal but lower-power signals, distribute the signals to users. An optical network unit
(ONU) terminates the PON at the customers home. The ONU usually communicates
with an optical network terminal (ONT), which may be a separate box that connects
the PON to TV sets, telephones, computers, or a wireless router. The ONU/ONT may be
one device.
In most cases, downstream signals are broadcast to all premises sharing multiple
fibers. Encryption can prevent eavesdropping.
Upstream signals are combined using a multiple access protocol, usually time division
multiple access (TDMA).

PON operation
In the basic method of operation for downstream distribution on one wavelength of
light from OLT to ONU/ONT, all customers receive the same data. The ONU recognizes
data targeted at each user. For the upstream from ONU to OLT, a time division
multiplex (TDM) technique is used where each user is assigned a timeslot on a
different wavelength of light. With this arrangement, the splitters act as power
combiners. The upstream transmissions, called burst-mode operations, occur at
random as a user needs to send data. The system assigns a slot as needed. Because
the TDM method involves multiple users on
a single transmission, the upstream data
rate is always slower than the downstream
rate.
Optical distribution networks can also be
designed in a point-to-point "homerun"
topology where splitters and/or active
networking are all located at the central
office, allowing users to be patched into whichever network is required from the
optical distribution frame.

Evolution of PON Standards

Two major standard groups, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
and the Telecommunication Standardization Sector of the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU-T), develop standards along with a number of other
industry organizations. The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE)
also specified radio frequency over glass for carrying signals over a passive optical
network.
During the last 20 years, the Full Service Access Network (FSAN) and the Ethernet in
the First Mile alliance (EFM) working groups, in cooperation with (ITU) and (IEEE)
standardization bodies, defined several PON standards as summarized in the Figure.

There are three main varieties of PON today: APON/BPON, GPON, and EPON.

APON/BPON
ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) passive optical network (APON) was initiated in
1995 by ITU/FSAN and standardized as ITU-T G.983. APON was the first PON based
technology developed for FTTH deployment. APON is renamed as broadband passive
optical network (BPON).BPON is stable standard that re-uses ATM infrastructure.
APON/BPON systems typically have downstream capacity of 155 Mbps or 622 Mbps.
Upstream transmission is in the form of cell bursts at 155 Mbps.

GPON
While BPON may still be used in some systems, most current networks use GPON, or
Gigabit PON. The ITU-T standard is G.984. It delivers 2.488 Gbits/s downstream and
1.244 Gbits/s upstream.
GPON uses optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) so a single fiber can be
used for both downstream and upstream data. A laser on a wavelength () of 1490
nm transmits downstream data. Upstream data transmits on a wavelength of 1310
nm. If TV is being distributed, a wavelength of 1550 nm is used.
While each ONU gets the full downstream rate of 2.488 Gbits/s, GPON uses a time
division multiple access (TDMA) format to allocate a specific timeslot to each user.
This divides the bandwidth so each user gets a fraction such as 100 Mbits/s depending
upon how the service provider allocates it.
The upstream rate is less than the maximum because it is shared with other ONUs in a
TDMA scheme. The OLT determines the distance and time delay of each subscriber.
Then software provides a way to allot timeslots to upstream data for each user.
As for data format, the GPON packets can handle ATM packets directly. Recall that ATM
packages everything in 53-byte packets with 48 for data and 5 for overhead. GPON
also uses a generic encapsulation method to carry other protocols. It can encapsulate
Ethernet, IP, TCP, UDP, T1/E1, video, VoIP, or other protocols as called for by the data
transmission. Minimum packet size is 53 bytes, and the maximum is 1518. AES
encryption is used downstream only.
The latest version of GPON is a 10-Gigabit version called XGPON, or 10G-PON. As the
demand for video and over the top (OTT) TV services has increased, there is an
increasing need to boost line rates to handle the massive data of high-definition video.
XGPON serves this purpose. The ITU standard is G.987.
XGPONs maximum rate is 10 Gbits/s (9.95328) downstream and 2.5 Gbits/s (2.48832)
upstream. Different WDM wavelengths are used, 1577 nm downstream and 1270 nm
upstream. This allows 10-Gbit/s service to coexist on the same fiber with standard
GPON. Optical split is 1:128, and data formatting is the same as GPON. Maximum
range is still 20 km. XGPON is not yet widely implemented but provides an excellent
upgrade path for service providers and customers.

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In GPON-based FTTH access network, the unpowered optical splitters are used to
enable a single optical fiber to serve multiple premises , the typical split of a single
fiber is 1:32 or 1:64. That means each fiber can serve up to 32 or 64 subscribers. Split
ratios up to 1:128 are possible in some systems.
In this project we will be using GPON.

EPON
Ethernet passive optical network (EPON) is one of the solutions considered by new
IEEE 802.3ah in September 2004, focusing on direct support of Ethernet services.
EPON uses CWDM and TDM to provide bi-directional and point-to-point
communications over a fiber and maintains frame structure for both upstream and
downstream. EPON standards networking community renamed the term last mile to
first mile to symbolize its importance and significance as part of the access network.
The system architecture is the same as GPON but data protocols are different.

10GEPON
10 Gigabit Ethernet PON is an IEEE Task Force for 10Gbit/s backwards compatible with
802.3ah EPON. 10GigEPON will likely multi- wavelength downstream and continue to
use a single wavelength with ATDMA for upstream. It will also be WDM-PON
compatible..

Why Choose GPON for FTTH Access Network?

GPON is chosen for FTTH access network because of its following features and
advantages.
Since GPON takes advantages of optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), a
single fiber can be used for both upstream and downstream data transmission.
Upstream data transmits on a wavelength of 1310nm with a speed up to 1.25
Gbps. Downstream data transmits on a wavelength of 1490nm with a speed up to
2.5 Gbps. Thus, great bandwidth is delivered by GPON. Besides, fiber split ratios in
GPON network can sometimes reach up to 1:128. That is to say the abovementioned great bandwidth can be delivered to potential 128 subscribers.
More importantly, the cost related to the maintenance of PON system may be low,
as there is little chance that the passive parts deployed in GPON infrastructure will
broke down or go wrong during their operation. Besides, the GPON design is a tree
topology in order to maximize their coverage with minimum network splits, thus
reducing optical power.
FTTH network based on GPON can provide cost-effective solutions for the future
bandwidth demands, such as TV and video services, online games and VoIP (Voice
over Internet Protocol).

Components of GPON-Based FTTH Access Network

There are three main components in GPON-based FTTH access network: a central
office node, called an OLT, one or more user nodes, called optical network units
(ONUs) or ONTs, and optical splitters. An OLT is usually placed in the Local Exchange
and its the engine that drives FTTH system. The important functions of an OLT are
traffic scheduling, buffer control and bandwidth allocation. ONTs are deployed at

11

customers premises. They are connected to the OLT by means of optical fiber and no
active elements are present in the link. An optical splitter, also called PON splitter,
is used to split the power of the signal. Usually, an optical splitter is able to widen
operating wavelength range and support network survivability and protection policy.
The following image shows the GPON design.

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Ch2: GPON
Components

Gigabit Passive Network Components

Optical Line Termination OLT

Optical Distribution Network ODN (ODF, Cables, splitters, )
Optical Network Unit ONU/ONT

Optical Line Terminal (OLT)

The optical line terminal is the main
it is usually placed in the Local
Exchange and its the engine that
drives FTTH system.
OLT has two float directions: one is
upstream getting distributing different
type of data and voice traffic from
users, the other is downstream
getting data, voice and video traffic
from metro network or from a longhaul network and sending it to all ONT
modules on the optical distribution
network (ODN).

element of the network and

OLT Features

13

Located at the CO
Each OLT offers several GPON interfaces
The OLT chassis like any telecom equipment have its power supply, fan, several
slots for management, services and GPON modules
The OLT acts as access node between all ONTs belonging to the same access
network the large network or some service.
OLT acts as the master and all ONTs as slaves, it keeps monitoring off all ONTs
and assign them time slots for transmission
All ONTs follow instructions from OLT regarding bandwidth, power adjustment,
security, etc...
OLT transceivers manage up to 20 KM distance and can be extended through
amplifier or repeater
1310 nm wavelength for upstream and downstream wavelengths are 1490 nm
for data and data traffic and wavelength of 1550 nm for RF Video or Cable TV
channels via satellite dish antenna
OLT supports BW allocation, auto discovery and registration of ONTs, etc
OLT has a downstream frame processing means for receiving and churning an
asynchronous transfer mode cell to generate a downstream frame, and
converting a parallel data of the downstream frame into a serial data thereof.

OLT has a wavelength division multiplexing means for performing an

electro/optical conversion of the serial data of the downstream frame and
performing a wavelength division multiplexing thereof.
OLT has an upstream frame processing means for extracting data from the
wavelength division multiplexing means, searching an overhead field,
delineating a slot boundary, and processing a physical layer operations
administration and maintenance (PLOAM) cell and a divided slot separately.
OLT has a control signal generation means for performing a media access
control (MAC) protocol and generating variables and timing signals used for the
downstream frame processing means and the upstream frame processing
means.
OLT has a control means for controlling the downstream frame processing
means and the upstream frame processing means by using the variables and
the timing signals from the control signal generation
An OLT provides the interface between a PON and a service providers core
network. These typically include:
IP traffic over Fast Ethernet, gigabit Ethernet, or 10 Gigabit Ethernet;
Standard TDM interfaces such as SDH/SONET;
ATM UNI at 155622 Mbit/s.

Simultaneous transmission of separate service types on the same fiber in the ODN is
enabled by using different wavelengths for each direction. For downstream
transmissions, a PON uses a 1490 nm wavelength for combined voice and data traffic
and a 1550 nm wavelength for video distribution. Upstream voice and data traffic use
a 1310 nm wavelength.
Each OLT is tasked to avoid interference between the contents of downlink and uplink
channel, using two different wavelengths superimposed. For this, techniques for WDM
(wavelength division multiplexing) are used, and are based on the use of optical
filters.
An optical power measurement at the OLT is also required to ensure that sufficient
power is delivered to the ONTs. This should be done during the initial activation
because it cannot be repeated without interrupting service for the entire network once
the network has been connected.
Finally, note that the OLT does not emit the same light output at all ONT fairly, but
depends on the distance they are from the plant. Therefore, a user close to the central
need less power, while a remote user will need a higher power.

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However, as network designer, it can choose from several options to locate the OLT,
each of which has advantages and disadvantages:
Core Central Office:
Long distance coverage.
Easy operation and maintenance.
Low density of users.
Central Office:
Better radio coverage.
Easy operation and maintenance.
Balance of resources (connections, fiber optic cables, ducts, feed, etc.)
Outdoor Cabinet:
Saving fiber optic cables.
More complex maintenance.
Reduced coverage radio.
Electric power needs.
On-site administration.
With this in mind, the only OLT it needs will be located in the central office allowing
a better radio coverage and much cheaper operation and maintenance costs than in
outdoor cabinet. Furthermore, the central office is more appropriate because in it are
distributed most of the communications of the city.

Optical Distribution Network (ODN)

ODN, an integral part of the PON system, provides the optical transmission medium
for the physical connection of the ONUs to the OLTs.
Its reach is 20 km or farther. Within the ODN, optical fibers, fiber optic connectors,
passive optical splitters, and auxiliary components collaborate with each other. The
ODN specifically has five segments which are feeder fiber, optical distribution point,
distribution fiber, optical access point, and drop fiber.
The feeder fiber starts from the optical distribution frame (ODF) in the central
office (CO) telecommunications room and ends at the optical distribution point for
long-distance coverage. The distribution fiber from the optical distribution point to
the optical access point distributes optical fibers for areas alongside it. The drop fiber
connects the optical access point to terminals (ONTs), achieving optical fiber drop
into user homes. In addition, the ODN is the very path essential to PON data
transmission and its quality directly affects the performance, reliability, and scalability
of the PON system.

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ODF Optical distribution frame

16

ODF is a passive component, and it is very important component for organizing

the fiber optic cable connections
ODF is usually used indoor and could be of a very big size frame or smaller
similar to patch panel boxes depending on the network design requirements

Cables
PON networks uses single mode fiber to achieve large distances, there are
three cable categories installed in any PON network:

Feeder Cables (large sizes) ITU-T G.652D

Feeder Cables F1 20 Km and 60 Km for extend reach

Carries traffic serving multiple endpoints form an office to a neighborhood
( local convergence point, LCP, or serving area interface, SAI )
Runs from access node such as OLT to the primary fiber concentration point
(FCP) and may cover a distance of up to several kilometers before
termination, it may cover max. distance of 19-20 Km before terminating in
First Concentration Point FCP
Designers can extend distance reach to 60 Km for newer GPON types using
optical amplifiers
The number of fibers in the cable will depend on design For point-to-point
deployments, high fiber-count cables containing hundreds of fibers are needed
to provide the necessary fiber capacity in order to serve the FTTH area
In case of using splitters this number is highly reduced
Feeder cabling mostly uses a single mode G.652 fiber, its count must be greater
than the number of GPON interfaces
Distribution Cables (medium sizes) ITU-T G.652D, ITU-T G.657A
Distribution Cables F2 < 1 Km
Carry traffic for one or more households from LCP to the curb (network access
point)
Runs between the FDH (Fiber Distribution Hub) and the Fiber Access Terminal
FAT and does not usually exceed distances of 1km
Cables will have medium-sized fiber counts targeted to serve a specific number
of buildings or a defined area
Total fiber counts will generally be between 48 and 216
Cables may be ducted, directly buried or grouped within a common micro duct
bundle.
The latter allows other cables to be added on a grow as you go basis
For larger MDUs, the distribution cabling may form the last drop to the building
and converts to internal cabling to complete the fiber link
Feeder cabling mostly uses a single mode G.657 fiber

Drop Cables ITU-T G.657A

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Drop Cables < 500m

Drop Cables (above ground) or service wire (underground) Carry traffic from
curb to dwelling unit (subscriber)
It is the final external link to the subscriber and runs from the last FAT to the
subscriber with a distance of less than half a kilometer
It can be terminated on the outside structure of the house, or pass through the
wall and terminate inside the house
Drop Cables come in four types: direct buried, direct install, aerial
Several deploying methods can be chosen, it may be deployed within small
ducts, micro-ducts or by direct burial to achieve a single dig and install solution

ITU fiber Standard G. 567 is preferable Air blown cables method is very suitable
for future upgrade

Optical Splitter
The typical PON connects a single fiber from an Optical Line Terminal (OLT) to multiple
Optical Network Units (ONUs).
The point-to multipoint connectivity between OLT and multiple ONUs is obtained
using one or more passive branching devices in the fiber path. At the heart of a PON is
a passive optical splitter. This device has a single input and multiple outputs. Typically
the number of outputs is 2n (e.g. 2, 4, 8, etc.) and the optical power is split evenly
between outputs. As a rule of thumb the optical power at each output is reduced
relative to the input by a factor of n x 3.5 dB
(10 log2n = n 10 log2; 0.5 dB are added to
include losses in splitter).
An optical splitter is a bi-directional device.
Because of this the splitter is sometimes
referred to as a splitter/coupler. The optical
signal is attenuated by the same amount ~ (n
x 3.5 dB) for both directions. There are two
techniques for manufacturing splitters: Fused
Biconical Taper (FBT) and Planar Lightwave
Circuit (PLC). A 1x2 FBT splitter is made by
precisely fusing two fibers together. Higher
split ratios are achieved by cascading multiple 1x2 splitters. A PLC splitter consists of
a microscopic optical circuit that is typically etched in silicon.Splitter used in GPON are
PLC type.

Splitting loss
One of the key parameters for every FTTH network designer is the achievable span
between the central office and the subscribers, in other words, the maximum optical
budget allowed in the system. The optical budget is comprised of attenuation from
splices, connectors, the transmission fiber and the optical splitters. The optical splitter
is by far the most demanding component in terms of losses (a typical 1x32 optical
splitter insertion loss could range between 17 dB and 18 dB).

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Optical Network Unit (ONU/ONT)

Optical network unit is a device that terminates the PON and presents customer
service interfaces to the user. Some ONUs implements a separate subscriber unit to
provide services such as telephony, Ethernet data, or video.
The ONT or ONU terminates the PON and presents the native service interfaces to the
user. These services can include voice (plain old telephone service (POTS) or voice
over IP (VoIP)), data (typically Ethernet or V.35), video, and/or telemetry (TTL, ECL,
RS530, etc.) Often the ONU functions are separated into two parts:
The ONU, which terminates the PON and presents a converged interface such
as DSL, coaxial cable, or multiservice Ethernet toward the user.
Network termination equipment (NTE), which inputs the converged interface
and outputs native service interfaces to the user, such as Ethernet and POTS.

ONU converts optical signals transmitted via fiber to electrical signals. These
electrical signals are then sent to individual subscribers. In general, there is a distance
or other access network between ONU and end users premises. Furthermore, ONU
can send, aggregate and groom different types of data coming from customer and
send it upstream to the OLT. Grooming is the process that optimizes and reorganizes
the data stream so it would be delivered more efficient. OLT supports bandwidth
allocation that allows to make smooth delivery of data float to the OLT, that usually
arrives in bursts from customer. ONU could be connected by various methods and
cable types, like twisted-pair copper wire, coaxial cable, optical fiber or Wi-Fi.

Optical Network Terminal (ONT)

Actually, ONT is the same as ONU in essence. ONT is an ITU-T term, whereas ONU is
an IEEE term. They both refer to the user side equipment in GEPON system. But in
practice, there is a little difference between ONT and ONU according to their location.
ONT is generally on customer premises.

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