Performance of Next Generation Passive Optical
Network with Mixed Line Rates
Gaby A. González1, Hernán A. López2, Gustavo A. Gómez3
Department of Telecommunications, Faculty of Engineering in Electronics and Telecommunications
University of Cauca
Popayán, Colombia
1gabygonzalez@unicauca.edu.co, 2andresmazorra@unicauca.edu.co, 3gtgomez@unicauca.edu.co
Abstract—The evolution of information and communication
technologies in recent years has allowed an increase connection
and interactivity between people and access to a large amount of
data at the same time, so it is important that networks are
capable of handling high data transmission speeds and high
bandwidth. Thus, networks based on fiber optics are the most
suitable for handling large flows of information thanks to the
constant evolution they present with respect to traditional
transmission media, increasing their capacity, bandwidth,
security and scalability. This article develops the process to carry
out the requirements and performance analysis of mixed line rate
optical networks based on DWDM (MLR-DWDM) when
implementing the FTTH architecture and the XG-PON, XGS-
PON and NG-PON 2 standards with their respective speeds. The
performance will be evaluated according to the OPM parameters
that are considered most relevant for this work.
Keywords— Mixed Line Rate (MLR), Fiber To The Home (FTTH),
Passive Optical Network (PON), Wavelength Division Multiplexing
(WDM), Optical Performance Monitoring (OPM).
I. INTRODUCTION
F
iber to the x Passive Optical Networks (FTTx-PON)
have become popular as an access network solution since they
reduce costs by using low power passive components and
support the bandwidth required for multiple services thanks to
the implementation of advanced techniques from multiplexers
such as those based on wavelength division multiplexing
(WDM) for their compatibility with FTTx and the ability to
transmit multiple wavelengths over a single optical fiber.
Due to the constant growth in demand, optical networks
based on WDM are expected to become increasingly
heterogeneous with respect to the compatible applications and
the underlying technologies employed in order to support a
wide variety of traffic demands. Due to the foregoing, more
particular studies have been promoted around the concept of
WDM networks with mixed line rate (MLR) that allow
managing different transmission speeds in the same fiber
strand, which in turn implies a greater commitment by the
limitations derived from the higher bit rates in terms of the
reach of the network and the complexity of its
implementation. In this research work, a performance analysis
of an MLR-DWDM network will be carried out by
implementing different standards such as XG-PON, XGS-
PON and NG-PON2 with their respective speeds, on the
FTTH (Fiber To The Home) network architecture.
II. DATA AND METHODS
The use of techniques based on WDM in conjunction with
PON architectures have made it possible to increase the
capacity of optical networks considerably, improving their
performance in communication systems, as well as their
profitability. However, certain aspects must be taken into
account to guarantee a good performance of the network
without increasing its costs. Due to the need for optical
networks to be able to work with different capacities at the
same time, gives rise to what is know as Mixed Line Rate
(MLR) Optical Networks. From this, MLR networks use
WDM techniques to be able to have different channels in the
same fiber strand, where each channel must work at different
transmission speeds with the aim of giving the network greater
flexibility when performing traffic assignment and try to
obtain a profitable model of said network [1].
To evaluate the performance of MLR networks, optical
performance monitoring (OPM) parameters are used, which
provide great benefits such as: increased customer satisfaction
and increased productivity generated by the easy
administration of optical networks through testing and
accurate documentation of the network. Optical monitoring is
carried out to detect anomalies, defects, degradations and
failures that affect the quality of the optical layer.
Within the OPM parameters we find the following:
• Wavelength of each channel.
• Optical signal to noise ratio (OSNR).
• Power for DWDM channel.
• Total power in the fiber.
• Q factor.
• Bit error rate (BER).
Constant optical monitoring is vitally important because it
can quickly diagnose degradations and any other damage, as
well as locate and restore network problems [2].
Another factor to take into account is the capacity of a
channel, since signals that operate at higher speeds are more
susceptible to effects such as attenuation, which can be seen
more clearly when having multiple signals at different speeds.
This fact arises from the relationship between the speed of a
signal and the energy needed to transmit that signal at that
speed. In the first place, the equation of the Shannon-Hartley
Theorem must be considered, which indicates that the capacity
of a channel C is [3]:
(1)
Where,
• C: maximum capacity of the channel in bps.
• B: channel bandwidth in Hertz.
• S/N: Signal to noise ratio, in watts.
Equation 1 establishes that the capacity of a system depends
on the bandwidth of the channel and the signal to noise ratio
(SNR), so to achieve a higher capacity in theory you can
increase the bandwidth or try to improve the SNR relation.
As mentioned above, the networks to be analyzed are based
on the XG-PON, XGS-PON and NG-PON2 standards with
speeds of 2.5, 10 and 40 Gbps respectively.
The length of the fiber for the last mile must be taken into
account, which can extend up to a few kilometers in FTTx
applications. However, the continuous demand for more
bandwidth has led to deeper deployments of fiber optics and
closer to the subscriber's residence in FTTH networks, which
is why the use of drop cables of up to 100 m in these cases [4].
For practical purposes, AllWave FLEX 200μm fiber from
OFS of Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. is used. This fiber
supports higher density and smaller diameter cables,
providing excellent macrobend and microbend performance
for access networks. FTTH. Such fiber maintains a very low
bending loss over the entire usable spectrum of wavelengths
from 1260 to 1625 nm (it has five times better bending
performance than conventional single mode fibers) [5].
However, for this particular case it must be taken into
account that the fiber optic cabling options available in
Optsim are limited and a drop fiber cable such as the
AllWave FLEX 200 μm is not available, which is why the
drop cable fiber must have similar characteristics to the
Corning SMF-28e fiber in order to keep the latter in the
simulation model.

A. MLR network based on XG-PON and XGS-PON Performance

standards (Type 1)
• Optical Spectrum
Figure 1 shows the MLR network model implementing the
speeds suggested by the XG-PON and XGS-PON standards.
The analysis of the performance of the MLR network is
carried out, keeping in mind the order of the channels, which
are as follows, those of 10 Gbps correspond to the first 2 and
last 2 channels (channel 1, 2, 7 and 8) , while the channels
with speeds of 2.5 Gbps will be those that occupy the
intermediate frequencies (channels 3, 4, 5 and 6), the order
of the channels was assigned taking into account that the
effects produced by interference may be more critical for the
channels of higher speed, in addition to this, the separation
between channels of 2.5 Gbps in 25 GHz and between
channels of 10 Gbps in 50 GHz is fixed, having an
asymmetric channel separation, with the aim of saving
Figure 1. MLR network (XG-PON and XGS-PON standards). bandwidth. Also, a 100 m cable is used for the last FTTH
mile.
Table 1 summary of parameters implemented for the current
network. Figure 2 shows the optical spectrum of the multiplexed
Parameters Value signal:
Number of channels 8
Link Distance 80 Km
Transmission power at 2.5 Gbps 0 dBm
Po Transmission power at 10 Gbps 5 dBm
Wavelength 1530 – 1560 nm
Type of Optical Modulation at 2.5 Gbps NRZ-OOK
Type of Optical Modulation at 10 Gbps RZ-OOK
Receiver Sensitivity -30 dBm
Optical Modulator Mach-Zehnder
Optical fiber Corning SMF-28e
Optical Filter Type Raised-cosine
Filter Type Electrical Bessel
Compensation 50%

Table 1: Characteristics of the MLR network, Type 1. Figure 2: Optical spectrum of 8 channels.
 Figure 2 also shows the drop in signal power levels, mainly spectrum occupied by the channels, the objective value for
in 10 Gbps channels, which makes it possible to verify that this case is ηdisa.
signals with higher bit rates are more susceptible to
attenuation. From this, the OPM parameters are obtained. The useful bandwidth occupied by the DWDM signal is
obtained (see figure 3) and then the analytical measurement
Rx Q
Jitter OSNR
Real and control variables are obtained that allow reaching the
Channel Power BER Factor OSNR
(dBm) (dB)
(ns) (dB)
(dB) value of ηdisa in table 3.
2 -24.7338 1.73∗10−28 21.0660 0.0037651 48.6239 5.26616
3 -18.5338 10−40 34.7727 0.0698480 58.9061 11.4661
Table 2: OPM parameters for asymmetric separation between channels.

The data presented in table 2 shows us a good

performance in the network taking into account the spacing
between channels assigned.

From the above, a spectral analysis can also be performed

on the system taking into account the criteria defined for the
spacing of the channels. In fiber optic communications
systems, information spectral density (ISD) is used when
there are several channels in the system, which is another
parameter that allows evaluating the performance of DWDM
Figure 3: Useful bandwidth for ISD.
networks [3].
(N−1)ΔV CN CTotal CPro Bw ηdisa
2.5 4 ch ∗ 2.5
For the measurement of spectral efficiency, an equation 25 GHz
Gbps Gbps + 4
4.005
developed in the GNTT (Group of New Tbps*Km 303.64 16.46%
ch ∗ 10
(Distance: GHz [bps/Hz]
Telecommunications Technologies) master's research group 50 GHz 10 Gbps Gbps = 50
80.1 Km)
Gbps
of the University of Cauca will be used. So, the total Table 3: Measurement and control variables, 8 hybrid channels.
maximum ISD of a system that implements multiple
channels would be represented by [6]: Table 3 summary the behavior of the system as a result of
the application of equation 2 where, with the channel
(2) separation that was implemented together with the net binary
transmission capacity seen as a sum of the independent
channels, it achieves a spectral efficiency of 16.46%.
Whose measurement and control variables are [6]:
 Eye Diagrams
 CN (Nominal capacity per wavelength): it is the binary
net capacity propagated at the access level. Next, the receiving eye diagrams of the 10/2.5 Gbps
 CTotal (Total capacity of the co-propagating system): it is channels were obtained to see the behavior of the signal in the
the sum of the individual capacities of the propagated real network (see figure 4).
channels.
 CPro (Information propagation capacity per kilometer): it
is the relationship between the amount of information
and the propagated distance.
 ηded (dedicated spectral efficiency per wavelength): is
the net ratio between the nominal capacity and the
occupied bandwidth.
 (N−1)ΔV (Optical Spacing of adjacent channels).
 ηdist (Theoretical Distributed Spectral Efficiency of the
system): is the ratio of the total capacity generated in the
system vs. the optical spacing. (a) (b)
 ηdisa (Distributed Spectral Analytical Efficiency by the
Figure 4: Plots of the receiving eye for (a) 10 and (b) 2.5 Gbps.
system): it is the relation of equation 2 between the total
capacity vs. the real occupied spectrum and the From the previous figure, a correct performance of the
maximum permissible SNR relation. network can be evidenced, although it is notable that the 10
Since it is desired to measure the ISD from the entire Gbps channels are more susceptible to degradation than the
2.5 Gbps channels.
 Last Mile
The scenario to work and evaluate is the FTTH architecture,
where the last mile of the system is evaluated, which is a
factor that can influence the performance of the network. For
this case, since drop wiring is used which can reach up to
around 100 m, it is decided to perform a simulation for last
mile distances of 10 and 100 m, which maintain a considerable
difference between each other to help with the analysis of the
same, in addition to that, the load is increased to 16, 32 and 64
end users in order to verify the influence of this factor on the
current network.
B. MLR network based on XSG-PON and NG-PON 2
standards (Type 2).
The MLR network based on the speeds of the XGS-PON
and NG-PON2 standards is now analyzed. As is already
known, XGS-PON allows to operate with symmetric speeds
of 10 Gbps and this time it is implemented in conjunction
with NG-PON2.
NG-PON2 is the industry's first multi-wavelength
standards-based passive optical network system that is
compatible with split-power optical distribution networks
and are capable of supporting multiple high-speed, high-
quality services.

# Rx Q Real
NG-PON1
Jitter OSNR
End Channel Power BER Factor OSNR Features XGS- NG-PON2
Users (dBm) (dB)
(ns) (dB)
(dB) XG-PON
PON
2 -24.668 8.11∗10−30 21.261 0.0032 48.035 5.33141
16
3 -18.407 10−40 34.545 0.0590 54.986 11.5924 Speed Downstream 10 10 40
2 -24.668 2.28∗10−29 21.228 0.0033 48.035 5.33140 (Gbps) Upstream 2.5 10 10
32
3 -18.407 10−40 34.706 0.0609 54.869 11.5924 bandwidth Downstream 1575-1580 1575-1580 1596-1602
2 -24.668 2.35∗10−30 21.130 0.0032 48.035 5.33141
64 range (nm) Upstream 1260-1280 1260-1280 1524-1544
3 -18.407 10−40 35.071 0.0638 54.986 11.5924
Table 4: OPM parameters for 16, 32 and 64 users; 10 m Minimum link distance
20 40 60
(Km)
not currently
Rx Q Real Commercial availability no deployment
# End
Channel Power BER Factor
Jitter OSNR
OSNR available
Users (ns) (dB)
(dBm) (dB) (dB) Point by point
2 -24.685 4.21∗10−30 21.258 0.003350 48.014 5.31403 Point by point
16 Type Point to
3 -18.424 10−40 34.882 0.062085 54.984 11.5750 point to multipoint
multipoint
2 -24.685 2.34∗10−29 21.115 0.003385 48.035 5.31419
32 Fiber to the x
3 -18.424 10−40 35.122 0.061863 54.985 11.5751 Application Fiber to the x (FTTx)
(FTTx)
2 -24.685 1.19∗10−30 21.216 0.003342 48.035 5.31419
64 Table 6: NG-PON1 vs NG-PON2.
3 -18.424 10−40 34.819 0.064704 54.985 11.5751
Table 5: OPM parameters for 16, 32 and 64 users; 100 m
As the objective is to achieve an MLR-DWDM type
The data presented in tables 4 and 5 show that the increase network, it is required that the channels implement nominal
in the number of users does not imply significant variations access speeds for each channel and not through the total
for most of the network parameters, with the exception of the capacity of a set of channels, clarifying that the chosen
BER in the 10 Gbps channels, which tends to vary together standards have been selected by the suggested speed in each
with the increase in the number of users, but still maintains one.
acceptable values that do not significantly affect the system. It
can be noted that the BER values of the 10 Gbps channel tend Figure 5 presents the MLR network model implementing the
to remain somewhat lower with 100 m of last mile, but with a XGS-PON and NG-PON 2 standards.
little more jitter, which allows the influence of the increase in
the number of users to be noted slightly better.

The results obtained so far show that it is possible to

implement an FTTH architecture on a 2.5/10 Gbps MLR
network and analyze the way in which it influences by
evaluating the performance of the network in order to obtain a
network that works optimally. However, the conditions of the
network must still be evaluated when using the highest
transmission speeds together (10 and 40 Gbps) in order to
achieve a better analysis of the heterogeneity that MLR-type Figure 5. MLR network (XGS-PON and NG-PON2 standards)
networks have for FTTH last-mile applications.
Table 7 summary the parameters implemented for the
current network.
 Parameters Value In figure 6 it can be highlighted that the 40 Gbps channels
number of channels 6
Link Distance 80 Km seem to be somewhat overlapping each other, confirming that
Transmission power at 10 Gbps 5 dBm they have a greater bandwidth given their propagation speed.
Transmission power at 40 Gbps 0 dBm On the other hand, it can be seen that the power obtained in
Wavelength 1530 – 1560 nm
Type of Optical Modulation at 10 Gbps RZ-OOK the 40 Gbps channels is quite close to that of the 10 Gbps
Type of Optical Modulation at 40 Gbps RZ-DPSK channels, despite having a transmission power of lesser
Receiver Sensitivity -30 dBm magnitude, demonstrating the robustness of a modulation
Optical Modulator Mach-Zehnder
Optical fiber Corning SMF-28e format like DPSK versus OOK. Now we proceed to obtain the
Optical Filter Type Raised-cosine, Gaussian useful bandwidth and parameters of the network (see figure 7).
Electrical Filter Type Bessel
Compensation 100%
Table 7: Characteristics of the MLR network, Type 2.

The use of the DPSK (Differential Phase Shift Keying)

modulation format improves performance for long-distance
optical communications, compared to OOK formats,
improving receiver sensitivity and tolerance to non-linear
effects, in addition both OOK and DPSK can be
implemented with NRZ encoding or RZ with no impact on
amplitude [7].

Due to the speeds that the current network must handle,

the total number of channels is adjusted to 6, in such a way
that 4 channels of 10 Gbps are maintained alongside with 2 Figure 7: Useful bandwidth in MLR type 2 network.
of 40 Gbps, since the latter have a greater degree of Rx Power Q Factor Jitter OSNR Real OSNR
Channel BER
difficulty in terms of implementation and in turn, they (dBm)
−40
(dB) (ns) (dB) (dB)
5 -24.6532 10 22.7576 0.000684008 51.3769 5.34679
require a greater investment in a real scenario. 6 -25.9544 10−40 34.8562 0.000156957 47.2861 4.04551
Table 8: MLR type 2 network OPM parameters.
The order of the channels will be as follows, the channels
corresponding to 40 Gbps will be the first and the last With the information generated by figure 7 and table 8, a
(channels 1 and 6), and the 10 Gbps channels will be those good performance in the network can be evidenced taking into
that correspond to the frequencies between them (channels 2, account the spacing between assigned channels and where a
3, 4 and 5). Regarding the separation of the channels, it was useful bandwidth of approximately 412 GHz could be
set at 50 GHz for the 10 Gbps channels and 100 GHz for the obtained, so now it is done measuring the ISD of the system.
40 Gbps channels, again having an asymmetric separation. (N−1)ΔV CN CTotal CPro Bw ηdisa
50 GHz 10 Gbps 4 ch ∗10 Gbps 9.612
Performance + 2 ch ∗ 40 Tbps*Km 412 29.12%
100 GHz 40 Gbps Gbps = 120 (Distance: GHz [bps/Hz]
Gbps 80.1 Km)
First, the optical spectrum of the multiplexed signal for 10 Table 9: Measurement and control variables, MLR type 2 network.
and 40 Gbps channels is obtained.
Table 9 shows the behavior of the system for the current
 Optical Spectrum case, where a spectral efficiency of 29.12% is obtained, which
turns out to be higher than that obtained for the first case. This
is due to the fact that a higher throughput is achieved in the
system with the current network, despite the fact that there is
also a greater bandwidth occupied by the use of quite high
transmission speeds.

 Eye Diagram

Next, the receiving eye diagrams of the 40/10 Gbps channels

are obtained to see the behavior of the signal in the current
network, see figure 8.

Figure 6: Optical spectrum of 6 channels.

 CONCLUSIONS
 When having higher transmission speeds, a higher
compensation percentage must be used, since in the
model with speeds of 2.5/10 Gbps only a compensation
of 50% was required and for the model that uses speeds
of 10/40 Gbps, it was necessary to use 100%
compensation given the greater susceptibility to
dispersion despite having a more robust modulation
scheme.
 The importance of the modulation schemes used is
(a) (b) highlighted, since good results were achieved through
the combination of robust schemes such as RZ-DPSK
Figure 8: Plots of the receiving eye for (a) 40 and (b) 10 Gbps. together with simple schemes such as NRZ-OOK and
From the previous figure, a correct performance of the RZ-OOK.
network can be evidenced, although 40 Gbps channels are
typically more susceptible to degradation than 10 Gbps It is concluded that the implementation of MLR networks in
channels, there is a higher BER for 10 Gbps in this case. a system, despite presenting greater complexity as channels
with higher transmission speeds are added, it is possible to
obtain a heterogeneous network that works in good conditions
 Last Mile
as long as the limitations are taken into account when
implementing different bit rates in the same fiber optic thread
A simulation is performed for last mile distances of 10 and
in order to be able to make the necessary adjustments that
100 m, increasing the number of users to 16, 32 and 64 where
allow minimizing the optical impairments suffered by the
the OPM parameters are obtained (see table 16 and 17).
multiplexed signals.
Rx Q Real
# End Chann Jitter OSNR
Power BER Factor OSNR
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According to the objective of this article, it is possible to

implement the FTTH architecture in a 2.5/10/40 Gbps MLR
network and thus evaluate its performance in each scenario,
with which it was finally possible to obtain a heterogeneous
network that works in optimal conditions under the minimum
requirements set.