Building on the Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) and Gigabit PON (GPON) standards, Next-Generation (NG) PONs (i) provide increased data rates, split ratios, wavelengths counts, and fiber lengths, as well as (ii) allow for all-optical integration of access and metro networks. In this paper we provide a comprehensive probabilistic analysis of the capacity (maximum mean packet throughput) and packet delay of subnetworks that can be used to form NG-PONs. Our analysis can cover a wide range of NG-PONs through taking the minimum capacity of the subnetworks forming the NG-PON and weighing the packet delays of the subnetworks. Our numerical and simulation results indicate that our analysis quite accurately characterizes the throughput-delay performance of EPON/GPON tree networks, including networks upgraded with higher data rates and wavelength counts. Our analysis also characterizes the trade-offs and bottlenecks when integrating EPON/GPON tree networks across a metro area with a ring, a Passive Star Coupler (PSC), or an Arrayed Waveguide Grating (AWG) for uniform and non-uniform traffic. To the best of our knowledge, the presented analysis is the first to consider multiple PONs interconnected via a metro network.

Passive optical networks (PONs) are currently evolving into next-generation PONs (NG-PONs) which aim at achieving higher data rates, wavelength channel counts, number of optical network units (ONUs), and extended coverage compared to their conventional counterparts. Due to the increased number of stages and ONUs, NG-PONs face significant challenges to provide the same level of survivability like conventional PONs without exceeding the budget constraints of cost-sensitive access networks. Toward this end, partial optical protection, in combination with interconnecting a subset of ONUs through a wireless mesh network (WMN) front-end, are promising solutions to render NG-PONs survivable in a cost-effective manner. In this paper, we present a probabilistic analysis of the survivability of NG-PONs and hybrid fiber-wireless (FiWi) access networks, taking both optical and wireless protection into account. In addition, we propose different selection schemes to wirelessly upgrade a subset of ONUs, and investigate their performance for a wide range of fiber link failure scenarios and different NG-PON topologies.

In this paper, we focus on the MAC enhancements of emerging high-throughput WLANs and introduce a novel fiber-wireless (FiWi) network architecture that integrates next-generation WLAN and EPON in a pay-as-you-grow manner while providing backward compatibility with legacy infrastructure and protecting previous investments. Our work sheds light onto the benefits of extending advanced frame aggregation techniques from next-generation WLANs to EPONs as well. We examine different path selection schemes to improve FiWi network performance by means of wireless mesh networking, considering not only throughput and delay but also overhead and packet loss.

Hybrid fiber-wireless (FiWi) networks become rapidly mature and represent a promising candidate for reducing power consumption, costs, and bandwidth bottlenecks of next-generation broadband access networks. Two key FiWi technologies with similar design goals are Ethernet passive optical network (EPON) and WiMAX. In this paper, we develop a powerful and flexible techno-economic analysis to compare the two technologies, taking into account not only equipment and installation costs but also OAM related costs such as power consumption and repairing costs for a wide range of different network failure scenarios, terrain types, and wireless channel conditions. The presented results give insight into the cost-performance trade-offs of EPON and WiMAX networks.