IP Library Granted Patent US 12,647,705
Granted Patent B2
US 12,647,705 · App. 18/483,829 · Granted Jun 2, 2026

PON out-of-band signaling

Inventors: Edward Wayne Boyd (Gilbert, AZ); Mark Edward Laubach (Redwood City, CA); James Harley (Richmond, CA)
Assignee: Ciena Corporation
H04Q11/0067H04B10/27H04Q2011/0088
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,647,705
App. No.
18/483,829
Granted
Jun 2, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

An Optical Line Terminal (OLT) system configured to operate in a Passive Optical Network (PON) includes a transmitter configured to communicate with a plurality of Optical Network Units (ONUs) on a downstream channel that is shared by all of the plurality of ONUs; and one or more receivers configured to communicate with the plurality of ONUs on an upstream channel and on an out-of-band channel, wherein the upstream channel is Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) such that one of the plurality of ONUs transmits at a time. Also, the OLT system can include circuitry configured to cache characteristics of the plurality of ONUs for configuring the receiver.

Claims (34)

1 . An Optical Line Terminal (OLT) system configured to operate in a Passive Optical Network (PON), the OLT system comprising:

a transmitter configured to communicate with a plurality of Optical Network Units (ONUs) on a downstream channel that is shared by all of the plurality of ONUs;

one or more receivers configured to communicate with the plurality of ONUs on an upstream channel and on an out-of-band channel, wherein the upstream channel is Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) such that one of the plurality of ONUs transmits at a time, and

circuitry configured to implement contention resolution on the out-of-band channel.

2 . The OLT system of claim 1 , wherein the out-of-band channel is utilized for any of discovery of ONUs of the plurality of ONUs, ranging of the ONUs, and a vendor-specific communications path.

3 . The OLT system of claim 1 , wherein the out-of-band channel is at separate spectrum from the upstream channel.

4 . The OLT system of claim 3 , wherein one or more ONUs of the plurality of ONUs include a cooled laser for coherent modulation, wherein the one or more ONUs are configured to use the cooled laser to communicate both over the upstream channel and the out-of-band channel, based on tuning the cooled laser to change a wavelength thereof.

5 . The OLT system of claim 3 , wherein the one or more receivers include two receivers with a first receiver for the upstream channel and a second receiver for the out-of-band channel.

6 . The OLT system of claim 1 , wherein the out-of-band channel is a frequency division multiplexed (FDM) side component of the upstream channel.

7 . The OLT system of claim 6 , the one or more receivers include a single receiver configured to simultaneously receive the upstream channel and the out-of-band channel.

8 . The OLT system of claim 1 , wherein the contention resolution includes one of (1) providing an affirming response to an ONU, and (2) providing a granting message to the ONU.

9 . The OLT system of claim 1 , wherein the downstream channel and the upstream channel include coherent modulation with signals supporting at least 100 Gb/s.

10 . An Optical Network Unit (ONU) system configured to operate in a Passive Optical Network (PON), the ONU system comprising:

one or more transmitters configured to communicate with an Optical Line Terminal (OLT) on an upstream channel and on an out-of-band channel, wherein the upstream channel is Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) such that one of the plurality of ONUs transmits at a time;

a receiver configured to communicate with the OLT on a downstream channel that is shared by all of the plurality of ONUs; and

circuitry configured to implement contention resolution on the out-of-band channel.

11 . The ONU system of claim 10 , wherein the out-of-band channel is utilized for any of discovery of the ONU, ranging of the ONUs, and a vendor-specific communications path.

12 . The ONU system of claim 10 , wherein the out-of-band channel is at separate spectrum from the upstream channel.

13 . The ONU system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more transmitters includes a cooled laser for coherent modulation, wherein the cooled laser are utilized to communicate both over the upstream channel and the out-of-band channel, based on tuning the cooled laser to change a wavelength thereof.

14 . The ONU system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more transmitters includes two transmitters with a first transmitter for the upstream channel and a second transmitter for the out-of-band channel.

15 . The ONU system of claim 10 , wherein the out-of-band channel is a frequency division multiplexed signal (FDM) side component of the upstream channel.

16 . The ONU system of claim 15 , the one or more transmitters include a single transmitter configured to simultaneously transmit the upstream channel and the out-of-band channel.

17 . The ONU system of claim 10 , wherein the contention resolution includes one of (1) receiving an affirming response from the OLT, and (2) receiving a granting message from the OLT.

18 . The ONU system of claim 10 , wherein the downstream channel and the upstream channel include coherent modulation with signals supporting at least 100 Gb/s.

19 . An Optical Network Unit (ONU) system configured to operate in a Passive Optical Network (PON), the ONU system comprising:

one or more transmitters configured to communicate with an Optical Line Terminal (OLT) on an upstream channel and on an out-of-band channel, wherein the upstream channel is Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) such that one of the plurality of ONUs transmits at a time, and the out-of-band channel is at separate spectrum from the upstream channel; and

a receiver configured to communicate with the OLT on a downstream channel that is shared by all of the plurality of ONUs,

wherein the one or more transmitters includes a cooled laser for coherent modulation, wherein the cooled laser are utilized to communicate both over the upstream channel and the out-of-band channel, based on tuning the cooled laser to change a wavelength thereof.

20 . The ONU system of claim 19 , wherein the out-of-band channel is utilized for any of discovery of the ONU, ranging of the ONUs, and a vendor-specific communications path.

21 . An Optical Line Terminal (OLT) system configured to operate in a Passive Optical Network (PON), the OLT system comprising:

a transmitter configured to communicate with a plurality of Optical Network Units (ONUs) on a downstream channel that is shared by all of the plurality of ONUs; and

one or more receivers configured to communicate with the plurality of ONUs on an upstream channel and on an out-of-band channel that is at separate spectrum from the upstream channel, wherein the upstream channel is Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) such that one of the plurality of ONUs transmits at a time,

wherein one or more ONUs of the plurality of ONUs include a cooled laser for coherent modulation, wherein the one or more ONUs are configured to use the cooled laser to communicate both over the upstream channel and the out-of-band channel, based on tuning the cooled laser to change a wavelength thereof.

22 . The OLT system of claim 21 , wherein the out-of-band channel is utilized for any of discovery of ONUs of the plurality of ONUs, ranging of the ONUs, and a vendor-specific communications path.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 10, 2023
From: BOYD, EDWARD WAYNE; LAUBACH, MARK EDWARD; HARLEY, JAMES
To: CIENA CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 065169/0962 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 63580693 · Sep 5, 2023
Related Publication 20250080884A1 · Mar 6, 2025
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