Device for Transmitting and Receiving Data and Corresponding Operating Method

1 - 13 . (canceled)

14 . A device for transmitting and receiving data, comprising:

an optical-to-electrical converter unit having an output;

an electrical-to-optical converter unit, separate from said optical-to-electrical converter unit and having an input; and

at least one antenna, which when only one antenna, is connected both to the output of said optical-to-electrical converter unit and to the input of said electrical-to-optical converter unit and, when more than one antenna, includes a transmit antenna connected to the output of said optical-to-electrical converter unit and a receive antenna connected to the input of said electrical-to-optical converter unit.

15 . The device as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the device operates passively and has no built-in voltage supply or supply voltage terminals.

16 . The device as claimed in claim 15 , wherein said electrical-to-optical converter unit is a polymer modulator or contains a polymer modulator.

17 . The device as claimed in claim 15 , wherein said electrical-to-optical converter unit includes a Mach-Zehnder modulator that works using interference effects.

18 . The device as claimed in claim 15 , wherein said electrical-to-optical converter unit is an electro-absorption modulator or contains an electro-absorption modulator.

19 . The device as claimed in claim 15 , wherein said optical-to-electrical converter unit includes an optical diode.

20 . The device as claimed in claim 15 , further comprising one of a circulator unit and a directional coupler unit, connected to said at least one antenna and having an input connected to the output of said optical-to-electrical converter unit and an output connected to the input of said electrical-to-optical converter unit.

21 . The device as claimed in claim 20 , wherein said one of a circulator unit and a directional coupler unit operates passively.

22 . The device as claimed in claim 20 , wherein the device may be connected to an optical fiber,

wherein said electrical-to-optical converter unit has a terminal that is the input and an output thereof, and

further comprising:

a connecting device suitable for connecting to the optical fiber, and

an optical coupling device connected to said connecting device and the terminal of said electrical-to-optical converter.

23 . The device as claimed in claim 20 , wherein the device may be connected to optical fibers, and

further comprising:

an optical input coupling device connected to the input of said electrical-to-optical converter unit;

an input connecting device, suitable for connecting to a first optical fiber, connected via said optical input coupling device to the input of said electrical-to-optical converter unit;

an optical output coupling device connected to the output of said electrical-to-optical converter unit; and

an output connecting device, suitable for connecting to a second optical fiber, connected via said optical output coupling device to the output of said electrical-to-optical converter unit.

24 . The device as claimed in claim 23 , wherein at least one of said input and output connecting devices contains a part of a screw connection.

25 . A method for operating a device having an optical-to-electrical converter unit with an output, an electrical-to-optical converter unit, separate from the optical-to-electrical converter unit and with an input, and either one antenna connected both to the output of the optical-to-electrical converter unit and to the input of the electrical-to-optical converter unit, or a transmit antenna connected to the output of the optical-to-electrical converter unit and a receive antenna connected to the input of the electrical-to-optical converter unit, comprising:

transmitting data for terminal equipment of data communications networks that differ from each other via the device based on a multiplexing technique.

26 . The method as claimed in claim 25 , wherein the data transmitted is for terminal equipment of at least two, of the following network standards: DECT, GSM, UMTS, WLAN and WiFi.