RoF Networks : A comprehensive study

We present a comparative study of different Fiber-Wireless networks with regards to their applications, architecture, hardware complexity, development costs, offered services and allocated bandwidths. While spectral resources and high data-rates are incessantly requested, these radio over fiber (RoF) networks have been proposed to overcome limitation in bandwidth. They take advantage of the spectral potential of millimeter-waves bands. Due to their flexibility, RoF links may be designed for a transparent transport of analog or digital signals. Several applications, based on point to point or point to multi points links, are here reviewed. Trends and prospects for these networks are also explored.