A Fiber-Wireless (FiWi) network integrates a passive optical network (PON) with wireless mesh networks (WMNs) to provide high speed backhaul via the PON while offering the flexibility and mobility of a WMN. Generally, increasing the size of a WMN leads to higher wireless interference and longer packet delays. The partitioning of a large WMN into several smaller WMN clusters, whereby each cluster is served by an Optical Network Unit (ONU) of the PON, is examined. Existing WMN throughput-delay analysis techniques considering the mean load of the nodes at a given hop distance from a gateway (ONU) are unsuitable for the heterogeneous nodal traffic loads arising from clustering. A simple analytical queuing model that considers the individual node loads to accurately characterize the throughput-delay performance of a clustered FiWi network is introduced. The accuracy of the model is verified through extensive simulations. It is found that with sufficient PON bandwidth, clustering substantially improves the FiWi network throughput-delay performance by employing the model to examine the impact of the number of clusters on the network throughput-delay performance. Different traffic models and network designs are also studied to improve the FiWi network performance.

The evolution of broadband access networks toward bimodal fiber-wireless (FiWi) access networks, described in this book, may be viewed as the endgame of broadband access. After discussing the economic impact of broadband access and current worldwide deployment statistics, all the major legacy wireline and wireless broadband access technologies are reviewed. State-of-the-art GPON and EPON fiber access networks are described, including their migration to next-generation systems such as OCDMA and OFDMA PONs. The latest developments of wireless access networks are covered, including VHT WLAN, Gigabit WiMAX, LTE and WMN. The advantages of FiWi access networks are demonstrated by applying powerful network coding, heterogeneous optical and wireless protection, hierarchical frame aggregation, hybrid routing and QoS continuity techniques across the optical-wireless interface. The book is an essential reference for anyone working on optical fiber access networks, wireless access networks or converged FiWi systems.

By the end of the decade, approximately 50 billion devices will be connected over the internet using multiple services such as online gaming, ultra-high definition videos, and 5G mobile services. The associated data traffic demand in both fixed and mobile networks is increasing dramatically, causing network operators to have to migrate the existing optical networks towards next-generation solutions. The main challenge within this development stems from network operators having difficulties finding cost-effective next-generation optical network solutions that can match future high capacity demand in terms of data, reach, and the number of subscribers to support multiple network services on a common network infrastructure. Design, Implementation, and Analysis of Next Generation Optical Networks: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an essential reference source that discusses the next generation of high capacity passive optical access networks (PON) in terms of design, implementation, and analysis and offers a complete reference of technology solutions for next-generation optical networks. Featuring research on topics such as artificial intelligence, electromagnetic interface, and wireless communication, this book is ideally designed for researchers, engineers, scientists, and students interested in understanding, designing, and analyzing the next generation of optical networks.

The integration of passive optical networks (PONs) and wireless mesh networks (WMNs) into Fiber-Wireless (FiWi) networks has recently emerged as a promising strategy forproviding flexible network services at relative high transmission rates. This work investigates the effectiveness of localized routing that prioritizes transmissions over the local gateway to the optical network and avoids wireless packet transmissions in radio zones that do not contain the packet source or destination. Existing routing schemes for FiWi networks consider mainly hop-count and delay metrics over a flat WMN node topology and do not specifically prioritize the local network structure. The combination of clustered and localized routing (CluLoR) performs better in terms of throughput-delay compared to routing schemes that are based on minimum hop-count which do not consider traffic localization. Subsequently, this work also investigates the packet delays when relatively low-rate traffic that has traversed a wireless network is mixed with conventional high-rate PON-only traffic. A range of different FiWi network architectures with different dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA) mechanisms is considered. The grouping of the optical network units (ONUs) in the double-phase polling (DPP) DBA mechanism in long-range (order of 100~Km) FiWi networks is closely examined, and a novel grouping by cycle length (GCL) strategy that achieves favorable packet delay performance is introduced. At the end, this work proposes a novel backhaul network architecture based on a Smart Gateway (Sm-GW) between the small cell base stations (e.g., LTE eNBs) and the conventional backhaul gateways, e.g., LTE Servicing/Packet Gateway (S/P-GW). The Sm-GW accommodates flexible number of small cells while reducing the infrastructure requirements at the S-GW of LTE backhaul. In contrast to existing methods, the proposed Sm-GW incorporates the scheduling mechanisms to achieve the network fairness while sharing the resources among all the connected small cells base stations.

The mobile market has experienced unprecedented growth over the last few decades. Consumer trends have shifted towards mobile internet services supported by 3G and 4G networks worldwide. Inherent to existing networks are problems such as lack of spectrum, high energy consumption, and inter-cell interference. These limitations have led to the emergence of 5G technology. It is clear that any 5G system will integrate optical communications, which is already a mainstay of wide area networks. Using an optical core to route 5G data raises significant questions of how wireless and optical can coexist in synergy to provide smooth, end-to-end communication pathways. Optical and Wireless Convergence for 5G Networks explores new emerging technologies, concepts, and approaches for seamlessly integrating optical-wireless for 5G and beyond. Considering both fronthaul and backhaul perspectives, this timely book provides insights on managing an ecosystem of mixed and multiple access network communications focused on optical-wireless convergence. Topics include Fiber–Wireless (FiWi), Hybrid Fiber-Wireless (HFW), Visible Light Communication (VLC), 5G optical sensing technologies, approaches to real-time IoT applications, Tactile Internet, Fog Computing (FC), Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), Software-Defined Networking (SDN), and many others. This book aims to provide an inclusive survey of 5G optical-wireless requirements, architecture developments, and technological solutions.