Ultra-Wideband Radio Signals Distribution in FTTH Networks

Abstract

The use of ultra-wide band (UWB) radio technique is proposed as a viable solution for the distribution of highdefinition audio/video content in fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks. The approach suitability is demonstrated by the transmission of standards-based UWB signals at 1.25 Gbit/s along different FTTH fiber links with 25 km up to 60 km of standard single-mode fiber length in a laboratory experiment. Experimental results suggest that orthogonal frequency division multiplexed UWB signals exhibit better transmission performance in FFTH networks than impulse radio UWB signals. Index Terms-Optical communications, Fiber-To-The-Home access networks, Ultra-Wide Band (UWB). I. INTRODUCTION ltra-Wide Band (UWB) has been indicated as one of the most promising techniques to be used in wireless communication networks. The growing interest in this technique is due to its low self-interference, tolerance to multipath fading, low probability of interception and capability of passing through walls while maintaining the communication [1]. Nowadays, UWB is appointed for high bit-rate wireless communications at picocell range, namely as a replacement of high definition (HD) video/audio cabling [2]. This paper proposes to extend this application to the distribution of HD audio/video content by the optical modulation and transmission of UWB signals in their native format through fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) access networks. This approach exhibits several advantages: (i) FTTH networks provide bandwidth enough to distribute a large number of UWB signals, as each one of them can occupy up to 7 GHz in current UWB regulation [3]. (ii) No trans-modulation is required at user premises. HD audio/video content is transmitted through the fibers in UWB native format. (iii) No frequency up-conversion is required at customer premises. The UWB signals are photo-detected, filtered, amplified and radiated directly to establish the wireless connection. (iv) FTTH networks are transparent to the specific UWB implementation Manuscript received 6th December 2007.

Architectures and Novel Functionalities for Optical Access OFDM Networks "Arquitecturas y Nuevas Funcionalidades para Redes OFDM de Acceso Óptico"

“…The transmission of UWB radio for audio/video distribution was first proposed for FTTH networks with optical amplifier sections in [Llo08a], where a single wavelength signal without polarization multiplexing is distributed per user. Since UWB can be regarded as a low cost technology, a reduction of the overall network deployment costs is expected.…”

“…transmission of wireless signals [Llo08a], or optical signal processing techniques like photonic-ADC sensing of ultra-low power radio [Llo09a]. Radio-over-fibre techniques require optical devices with highlinearity in order to reduce intermodulation and harmonics which are difficult to be compensated, at least to some extent.…”

“…This approach employs the FTTH optical links to optically distribute the UWB signal in its native format from a central location to the remote customer premises for its further wireless transmission [Llo08a]. This approach exhibits several advantages:…”

“…The optical distribution of IR-UWB and OFDM-UWB signals in FTTH networks was first proposed in [Llo08a]. Mathematical modelling was performed for both UWB signals in [52] and UWB-over-fibre has been studied by simulation as reported in Section 2.2.…”

“…This in-building fibre architecture aims to extend the broadband capacity offered by the access networks, i.e. FTTH networks [Llo08a].…”