System, method and computer readable medium for providing dual rate transmission on a gigabit passive optical network

1. A passive optical network comprising:

at least one optical line termination;

at least one first optical network termination operating at a first rate;

at least one second optical network termination operating at a second rate;

wherein said at least one optical line termination transmits at least one message frame to at least one of the at least one first optical network termination and the at least one second optical network termination, the at least one message frame comprising:

a first rate header;

a first partition comprising a second rate header and a second rate payload; and

a second partition comprising a first rate payload;

wherein the first rate header, a second rate header, and the second partition are transmitted before the first rate payload is transmitted.

2. The passive optical network according to claim 1 wherein said second rate is faster than said first rate.

3. The passive optical network according to claim 2 wherein said first rate is 2.5 Gb/s and wherein said second rate is 10 Gb/s.

4. The passive optical network according to claim 1 wherein said message frame is a predetermined length.

5. The passive optical network according to claim 4 wherein said predetermined length is 125 microseconds.

6. The passive optical network according to claim 1 wherein said second optical network termination processes said second rate header and said second rate payload and ignores said second partition and said first rate header.

7. The passive optical network according to claim 1 wherein said first rate header is of a constant length.

8. The passive optical network according to claim 1 wherein said first rate header is one of a plurality of said at least one message frames.

9. The passive optical network according to claim 8 wherein a next first rate header of a next message frame immediately follows said second partition.

10. The passive optical network according to claim 1 wherein said first optical network termination processes said first rate header and said second partition and ignores data of said first partition.

11. The passive optical network according to claim 1 wherein an end of said second rate payload is aligned with an end of said first partition.

12. A method for transmitting a signal from an optical line termination comprising:

transmitting a first header at a first rate;

transmitting a second header at a second rate different from the first rate after the transmitting of the first header at the first rate;

transmitting a first payload at the first rate associated with the first header; and

transmitting a second payload at the second rate associated with the second header, the second payload being transmitted before the first payload is transmitted;

wherein a first partition in said first header is defined and said second header and said second payload is transmitted within said first partition; and

wherein an end of said second rate payload is aligned with an end of said first partition.

13. The method according to claim 12 wherein said first header, said second header, said first payload and said second payload together form a message frame of a predetermined length.

14. The method according to claim 13 comprising transmitting a plurality of said message frames.

15. A method for processing a signal received in an optical network termination operating at one of a plurality of operating rates of a passive optical network, the method comprising:

determining a message frame of said signal received;

determining a first header of said message frame transmitted at a first operating rate of the optical network termination and a second header transmitted at a different rate from the operating rate of the optical network termination;

determining at least one payload of said message frame transmitted at the different rate from the operating rate of the optical network termination; and

transmitting the first header, the second header, and a portion of the at least one payload before another portion of the payload is transmitted.

16. The method according to claim 15 wherein said first header defines a location in said message frame of said data signal.

17. The method according to claim 15 wherein said first header defines a portion of said message frame that is unused by the optical network termination.

18. The method according to claim 17 wherein the unused portion of said message frame comprises a portion transmitted at an operating rate different to the operating rate of the optical network termination.

19. The method according to claim 18 wherein the operating rate of the optical network termination is faster than at least one other operating rate of the passive optical network.

20. An optical line termination comprising a signal generator for generating a transmission signal on a passive optical network, the transmission signal including a frame format comprising:

a first header;

a second header;

a first data signal; and

a second data signal;

wherein the optical line termination transmits the first header and the first data signal at a first transmission rate, the first data signal corresponding to the first header; and

wherein the optical line termination transmits the second header and the second data signal at a second transmission rate different from the first transmission rate, and wherein the second header and the second data signal are transmitted before the first data signal.

21. An optical line termination according to claim 20 wherein the first header has a constant length.

22. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that when executed cause a processor to perform:

generating a plurality of first message frames, each first message frame comprising a first header, a first payload portion and a first unused portion;

generating a plurality of second message frames, each second message frame comprising a second header, a second payload portion and a second unused portion;

interleaving said first and second message frames such that said second header and said second payload portion are provided in said first unused portion of the first message frame and said first header and said first payload portion are provided in said second unused portion of the second message frame; and

transmitting an interleaved data frame, wherein the first header, the second header and the second payload portion are transmitted before the first payload portion corresponding to the first header is transmitted.

23. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 22 wherein each of said first message frames and said second message frames are 125 microseconds long.