First prototype of bi-directional EDFA for single fiber tree-and-branch access networks carrying AM-VSB and digital multiwavelength signals

Summary form only given. Optical fiber is penetrating rapidly in subscriber access networks for distribution of community antenna television (CATV) services. Today´s CATV head-end stations are feeding distributive services to large numbers of subscribers (>10,000) in networks with abundant splitting in the fiber part as well as in the coaxial part. The ACTS project TOBASCO (Towards Broadband Access Systems for CATV Optical networks) is exploring ways to upgrade existing fiber-coax CATV networks to implement such interactive services by developing HDWDM techniques and optical bi-directional amplifiers. We present the design and performances of a bi-directional multiwavelength TWOBA (two wavelength optical branching amplifier) used to compensate the propagation and the splitting losses along the link for bi-directional digital interactive signals and downstream analogue CATV signal.