Fiber optic access network refers to the application form that uses fiber optic as the main transmission medium in the access network to achieve user information transmission. It is not a traditional fiber optic transmission system, but a special fiber optic transmission network designed for the access network environment.
Connected to service nodes through optical line terminals (OLTs) and to users through optical network units (ONUs). The fiber optic access network includes remote equipment optical network units and central equipment optical line terminals, which are connected through transmission equipment. The main components of the system are OLT and remote ONU. They complete the conversion of signaling protocols from the Service Node Interface (SNI) to the User Network Interface (UNI) throughout the entire access network. The access device itself also has networking capabilities and can form various forms of network topologies. At the same time, the access device also has local maintenance and remote centralized monitoring functions, forming a maintenance and management network through transparent optical transmission, and being included in the unified management of the network management center through corresponding network management protocols.
The role of OLT is to provide an interface between the access network and the local switch, and to communicate with the optical network units at the user end through optical transmission. It completely separates the switching function of the switch from user access. The optical line terminal provides maintenance and monitoring for itself and the user end. It can be placed directly with the local switch at the exchange end or set up remotely.
The role of ONU is to provide a user side interface for the access network. It can connect to multiple user terminals and has photoelectric conversion function as well as corresponding maintenance and monitoring functions. The main function of ONU is to terminate the optical fiber from OLT, process optical signals, and provide business interfaces for multiple small businesses, business users, and residential users. The network end of ONU is an optical interface, while its user end is an electrical interface. Therefore, ONU has optical/electrical and electrical/optical conversion functions. It also has the functions of digital to analog and analog-to-digital conversion for dialogue sounds. ONU is usually placed closer to the user, and its location has great flexibility.
Fiber Aceess Network classification
Fiber access networks (hereafter FAT) are divided into two categories based on system allocation: active optical networks (AON) and passive optical networks (PON). As Yingda focus on passive fiber optic products, the following text will focus on introducing passive optical networks.
Active optical networks can be divided into SDH based AON and PDH based AON. The central equipment (CE) and remote equipment (RE) of active optical networks are connected through active optical transmission equipment, and the transmission technology is SDH and PDH technology that have been widely used in backbone networks, but SDH technology is the main one.
Passive Optical Network (PON) mainly refers to an Optical Distribution Network (ODN) between OLT and ONU, without any active electronic devices. It includes ATM based Passive Optical Network (APON) and IP based PON.
Passive Optical Network (PON) is a pure dielectric network that avoids electromagnetic interference and lightning effects from external devices, reduces the failure rate of lines and external devices, improves system reliability, and saves maintenance costs. It is a technology that telecommunications maintenance departments have long been looking forward to.
The specific advantages of passive optical access networks are as follows:
(1) Passive optical networks have small size, simple equipment, low installation and maintenance costs, and relatively small investment.
(2) Passive optical devices have flexible networking and can support network topologies such as tree, star, bus, hybrid, and redundant.
(3) Easy to install, it comes in both indoor and outdoor versions. Its outdoor appearance can be directly hung on the wall or placed on the "H" pole, without the need to rent or build a computer room. Active systems require photoelectric and electro-optical conversion, with high equipment manufacturing costs and the need for dedicated sites and computer rooms. Remote power supply issues are difficult to solve, and daily maintenance workload is heavy.
(4) Passive optical networks are suitable for point to multipoint communication, using only passive splitters to allocate optical power.
(5) Passive optical networks are pure dielectric networks that completely avoid electromagnetic interference and lightning effects, making them highly suitable for use in areas with harsh natural conditions.
(6) From a technological development perspective, the expansion of passive optical networks is relatively simple and does not involve equipment modification. It only requires equipment software upgrades, one-time purchase of hardware equipment, and long-term use, laying the foundation for fiber to the home and ensuring user investment.
Fiber Access Netowrk Features
The main characteristics of fiber optic access network are:
1、 The network coverage radius is generally small and does not require repeaters. However, due to the sharing of optical fibers by many users, the allocation of optical power or wavelength may require the use of fiber amplifiers for power compensation;
2、 Require the transmission of various broadband services, with good transmission quality and high reliability;
3、 The application scope of fiber optic access network is broad;
4、 The investment cost is high, network management is complex, and remote power supply is difficult. [2]
Fiber Access Methods
According to the location of the Optical Network Unit (ONU), fiber access methods can be below types:
FTTB (Fiber to the Building);
FTTC (Fiber to the curb);
FTTH (Fiber to the home);
FTTO (Fiber to the Office);
FTTF (Fiber to the Floor);
FTTP (Fiber to the Premise);
FTTN (Fiber to the Nodes);
FTTD (Fiber to the Desktop);
FTTR (Fiber to the room).
Figure 1:Most popular fiber access methods
The most important forms are FTTB (Fiber to Building), FTTC (Fiber to Roadside), and FTTH (Fiber to User).
FTTC mainly provides services for residential users, with optical network units (ONUs) located on the roadside, near the user's residence. The electrical signals from the ONUs are then transmitted to various users, usually using coaxial cables to transmit video services and twisted pair cables to transmit telephone services.
The ONU of FTTB is installed at the distribution box inside the building, mainly used for comprehensive buildings, remote medical care, remote education, and large entertainment venues, serving large and medium-sized enterprises, institutions, and commercial users, providing high-speed data, e-commerce, video and text services, and other broadband services.
FTTH is the placement of ONUs in user residences to provide various comprehensive broadband services for home users. FTTH is the ultimate goal of fiber optic access networks, but each user requires a pair of fibers and dedicated ONUs, making it expensive and difficult to implement.
Main features
FTTCab
FTTC
FTTB
FTTH
FTTP
ONU location
Cross cabinet
Roadside(Curb)
Building
residents' home
companies, offices
Type of Access Medium
Backbone:fiber optic; End:metal wire/wireless
Backbone:fiber optic; End:metal wire/wireless
Backbone:fiber optic; End:metal wire/wireless
Full line fiber optic
Full line fiber optic
Reference wiring distance between optical nodes and user devices
1000m ~2000m
1000m ~2000m
1000m ~2000m
A few meters to tens of meters
A few meters to tens of meters
User access speed
Downstream maximum 25Mbit/s, upstream maximum 1.8Mbit/s
Downstream maximum 155Mbit/s
Downstream maximum 100Mbit/s
The maximum up and down speed can exceed 100Mbit/s
The maximum up and down speed can exceed 100Mbit/s
Table 1: FTTx Structure Main Features
From the figure, it can be seen that FTTH is all connected to terminals through fiber optic networks, and the terminals connected to them are called Optical Network Terminals (ONTs). FTTB or FTTC is connected to buildings or curbstones through fiber optic networks, and then connected to terminals through copper twisted pair networks or wireless connections. The end devices of the fiber optic network are called optical network units (ONUs), which are connected to network terminals (NTs) through copper twisted pair networks or wireless connections. FTTCab is similar to FTTC, except that its ONU is located in a telecommunications cabinet.
The FTTB, FTTC, and FTTCab in the figure all belong to "partial" fiber to the home, which means that the fiber is not directly connected to the end user, but reaches near the end user and then connects to the end user through a twisted pair network. In FTTCab, the ONU in the telecom junction box is usually located 1000-2000m away from the end users, and in this case, one ONU unit can support about 500 end users. In FTTC, the ONU is closer to the end users, at 200-1000m, and can support 8-32 end users. The network between OLT and ONT/ONU is called Optical Distribution Network (ODN), and its distance can reach up to 20km, as shown in the figure.
Fiber Access Network Advantages:
Compared with other access technologies, fiber access networks have the following advantages:
(1) Fiber optic access networks can meet users' needs for various services. People's demand for communication services is increasing. In addition to making phone calls and watching TV, they also hope for high-speed computer communication, home shopping, home banking, remote teaching, video on demand (VOD), and high-definition television (HDTV). It is difficult to achieve these businesses using copper wire or twisted pair cables.
(2) Fiber optics can overcome some limiting factors that copper cables cannot overcome. Fiber optic loss is low and the frequency band is wide, which eliminates the limitation of small copper wire diameter. In addition, optical fibers are not affected by electromagnetic interference, ensuring signal transmission quality. Using optical cables instead of copper cables can solve the problem of crowded underground communication pipelines in cities.
(3) The performance of fiber optic access networks continues to improve while prices continue to decline, while the price of copper cables continues to rise.
(4) The fiber optic access network provides data services with a comprehensive monitoring and management system, which can meet the needs of future broadband integrated service digital networks, break through bottlenecks, and ensure the smooth operation of the information highway.
Of course, compared to other access network technologies, fiber optic access networks also have certain disadvantages. The problem is that the cost is relatively high. Especially the closer the optical node is to the user, the higher the cost of access equipment shared by each user. In addition, compared to wireless access networks, fiber optic access networks also require pipeline resources. This is also why many emerging operators are optimistic about fiber optic access technology, but have to choose wireless access technology.
Nowadays, the main factor affecting the development of fiber optic access networks is not technology, but cost. However, the adoption of fiber optic access networks is an inevitable trend in the development of fiber optic communication. Although the steps for developing fiber optic access networks vary in different countries today, fiber to the home is widely recognized as the development goal of access networks.
Reference Terms
Abbreviation
Full name
Abbreviation
Full name
FAT
Fiber access network
ODN
Optical distribution network
PON
Passive optical network
FTTH
Fiber to the home
EPON
Ethernet Passive Optical Network
FTTB
Fiber to the building
GPON
Gigabit-capable Passive Optical Network
FTTC
Fiber to the curb
XGPON
XG-PON
FTTO
Fiber to the office
XGSPON
XGS-PON
FTTP
Fiber to the premises
AON
Active optical network
FTTCab
Fiber to the cabinet
OLT
Optical Line Terminal
ONU
Optical network unit
NT
Network terminal
ONT
Optical network terminal
P2MP
Point to multipoint
CO
Central office