A class of MAC protocols for sharing ATM local access PONs

Abstract

The cost of a dedicated fiber access to the B-ISDN is too high for small business and residential customers, necessitating some form of resource sharing. Combining ATM over a passive optical network (APON) with a suitable medium access control (MAC) protocol can provide significant cost savings and a reasonable bandwidth. In this way, this customer section can also enjoy introduction of broadband services at a relatively early stage. The emphasis of the MAC protocol presented is placed on service transparency with an aim to incur minimal changes to the local exchange (LEX) when an APON is attached. Sharing is effected by a reservation-based time division multiple access method.<>