IP Library Granted Patent US 12,549,250
Granted Patent B1
US 12,549,250 · App. 19/184,824 · Granted Feb 10, 2026

Systems and methods for fiber upstream trace determination

Inventors: Ryan C. Bennett (Arlington, WA); Jeremy S. Papke (Monroe, WA)
Assignee: FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS HOLDINGS, LLC
H04B10/07H04B10/27H04B10/271H04J14/00H04J14/0227H04J14/023H04J14/0267H04Q11/0005H04Q11/0062H04Q2011/0073H04Q2011/0083
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,549,250
App. No.
19/184,824
Granted
Feb 10, 2026
Kind
B1
Abstract

Systems and methods for performing an upstream trace operation are presented. An exemplary method may include obtaining an indication of a new service location of a passive optical network (PON); detecting a physical polyline route, within the PON, from an on-ramp facility corresponding to the new service location to a serving office of the PON, the detecting based on (i) respective geospatial locations of a plurality of optical components of the PON, and (ii) interconnections of the plurality of optical components, and the plurality of optical components including the on-ramp location, a terminal disposed at the serving office, and at least one optical fiber optically connecting the on-ramp location and the terminal; and causing optical services to be delivered from the serving office to the new service location via the detected physical polyline route.

Claims (41)

1 . A method for providing services to a service location of a passive optical network (PON), the method comprising:

obtaining, by one or more processors, an indication of a new service location of a passive optical network (PON);

obtaining, by the one or more processors, an indication of a set of required optical services at the service location;

detecting, by the one or more processors, a physical polyline route, within the PON, from an on-ramp facility corresponding to the new service location to a serving office of the PON,

the on-ramp facility included in a plurality of on-ramp facilities,

the detecting including performing an upstream trace from the on-ramp facility to the serving office, thereby determining one or more characteristics of the on-ramp facility, the performing of the upstream trace including searching, along the physical polyline route in a direction from the on-ramp facility towards the serving office, for one or more upstream entities of the physical polyline route, the one or more upstream entities having respective capabilities to support the set of required optical services and including at least one optical component of the PON, and

selecting the on-ramp facility based on the determined one or more characteristics of the on-ramp facility; and

causing, by the one or more processors, end-user services to be delivered from the service office to the new service location via the detected physical polyline route.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the obtaining of the indication of the new service location includes receiving, by the one or more processors, at least one of:

a user input, or

a user selection of the new service location.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the performing of the upstream trace includes transmitting a test signal via an optical fiber or wire of the physical polyline route, the test signal including at least one of: a test pattern, an indication light, or a measurement signal.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the test signal is transmitted from the on-ramp facility towards the serving office.

5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the test signal is transmitted from the serving office towards the on-ramp facility.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the performing of the upstream trace further includes detecting that the one or more upstream entities have the respective capabilities to support the set of required optical services.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the upstream trace is performed offline using one or more records stored in one or more databases.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the upstream trace is performed in real-time using a trace application programming interface (API) or trace graph.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the selecting of the on-ramp facility includes:

determining, by the one or more processors, one or more preferred characteristics of the on-ramp facility; and

selecting, by the one or more processors, the on-ramp facility such that the one or more determined characteristics of the on-ramp facility match or exceed a target threshold of the one or more preferred characteristics.

10 . A system for providing service to a service location of a passive optical network (PON), the system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more memories storing a set of computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to:

obtain an indication of a new service location of a passive optical network (PON);

obtain an indication of a set of required optical services at the service location;

detect a physical polyline route, within the PON, from an on-ramp facility corresponding to the new service location to a serving office of the PON, the on-ramp facility included in a plurality of on-ramp facilities, and the detection including:

a performance of an upstream trace from the on-ramp facility to the serving office to thereby determine one or more characteristics of the on-ramp facility, the performance of the upstream trace including a search, along the physical polyline route in a direction from the on-ramp facility towards the serving office, for one or more upstream entities of the physical polyline route, the one or more upstream entities having respective capabilities to support the set of required optical services and including at least one optical component of the PON, and

a selection of the on-ramp facility based on the determined one or more characteristics and one or more preferred characteristics of the on-ramp facility; and

cause end-user services to be delivered from the service office to the new service location via the detected physical polyline route.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the indication of the new service location is based on at least one of:

a user input, or

a selection by a user of the new service location.

12 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the performance of the upstream trace includes a transmission of a test signal via an optical fiber or wire of the physical polyline route, the test signal including at least one of: a test pattern, an indication light, or a measurement signal.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the transmission of the test signal is from the on-ramp facility towards the serving office.

14 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the transmission of the test signal is from the serving office towards the on-ramp facility.

15 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the performance of the upstream trace further includes a detection that the one or more upstream entities of the physical polyline route have the respective capabilities to support the set of required optical services.

16 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the system performs the upstream trace offline using one or more records stored in one or more databases.

17 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the system performs the upstream in real-time using a trace application programming interface (API) or trace graph.

18 . The system of claim 10 , wherein:

the one or more processors execute the set of computer-executable instructions to cause the system further to determine one or more preferred characteristics of the on-ramp facility; and

the selection of the on-ramp facility is such that the one or more determined characteristics of the on-ramp facility match or exceed a target threshold of the one or more preferred characteristics.

Assignments (3)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 23, 2026
From: FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS HOLDINGS, LLC
To: FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS PARENT, INC.
Reel/Frame 075841/0108 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 2, 2026
From: FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS PARENT, INC.
To: VERIZON PATENT AND LICENSING INC.
Reel/Frame 075835/0355 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 19, 2025
From: BENNETT, RYAN C.; PAPKE, JEREMY S.
To: FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS HOLDINGS, LLC
Reel/Frame 071150/0656 →
Continuity (1)
Continuation 18800598 · Aug 12, 2024
References Cited (56)
US 5983068A · Tomich et al. · 1999 [cited by applicant]
US 6130890A · Leinwand et al. · 2000 [cited by applicant]
US 6144471A · Eyberg et al. · 2000 [cited by applicant]
US 6681083B1 · Koonen · 2004 [cited by examiner]
US 6912221B1 · Zadikian et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 7676154B2 · Vukovic et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 7885549B1 · Thinguldstad et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 9319758B2 · Goswami et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 10678015B1 · Measels · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 12114114B1 · Valdez · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20020019699A1 · McCarty et al. · 2002 [cited by applicant]
US 20040105451A1 · Boduch et al. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 20040246973A1 · Hoang · 2004 [cited by examiner]
US 20050175343A1 · Huang · 2005 [cited by examiner]
US 20050185631A1 · Bernard et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20050185967A1 · Hoshida · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20050232567A1 · Reagan et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20050244161A1 · Satoh · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20060215636A1 · Corley et al. · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20070281685A1 · Pan et al. · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 20080008102A1 · Bardalai · 2008 [cited by examiner]
US 20080013694A1 · Ward · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080013950A1 · Boudreault · 2008 [cited by examiner]
US 20090074403A1 · Chi et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20090198832A1 · Shah · 2009 [cited by examiner]
US 20090274463A1 · Bernard et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20100098407A1 · Goswami et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20100290782A1 · Lee et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20110170865A1 · Zheng · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20110188849A1 · Haramaty et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20110268435A1 · Mizutani · 2011 [cited by examiner]
US 20120039331A1 · Astigarraga · 2012 [cited by examiner]
US 20120226520A1 · Blasius et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20120321296A1 · Wellbrock · 2012 [cited by examiner]
US 20130156427A1 · Lopez · 2013 [cited by examiner]
US 20130279900A1 · Kim · 2013 [cited by examiner]
US 20140226966A1 · Lutgen · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20150200838A1 · Nadeau · 2015 [cited by examiner]
US 20160112136A1 · Urban · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20160173192A1 · Wilson et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20160283345A1 · Gounares · 2016 [cited by examiner]
US 20170279525A1 · Qu et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20170288778A1 · Shen et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20180145843A1 · Choi et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20190014036A1 · Anand · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 20190197846A1 · Englund · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20200221193A1 · Dieselberg · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200267455A1 · Gray et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200267498A1 · Draper et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200336809A1 · Zhang et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20220383271A1 · Sawant et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20220405725A1 · Grossman et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20230062982A1 · Patterson · 2023 [cited by examiner]
US 20240267704A1 · Gray et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
EP 1560364A1 · 2005 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2007110579A1 · 2007 [cited by applicant]