Demonstration of extended split APON

An end-to-end data link was demonstrated on an ATM passive optical networks (APON) with extended splitting factor of 128 and 256. The measurements show that the transparent solution can regroup PONs to a split of 128 and 256 on the condition of the optical network units having a limited maximal distance of, for example, 10 km. This solution reuses the standard APON IT hardware. We have also demonstrated that the hardware upgrade solution achieves PON topologies with an extended split of 128 and 256. The critical required increase in upstream sensitivity is offered by the combination of the APD-based burst mode receiver with the low loss combiner.