A low cost optical link for personal communication networks

Subcarrier multiplexing (SCM), is a very attractive technology for future personal communication networks (PCN). The main limitation of optical links for transport of mobile radio signals, is the linearity of the laser. We show that in PCN based on microcells, this problem can be alleviated by a proper carrier/cell assignment to allow the use of moderate cost lasers in picocellular systems or microcellular with power control. The design and characterization of a low cost optical link is then presented with performance adequate for picocell/microcell based PCN.