Fiber-Wireless Access Networks Research Papers (original) (raw)

The smart grid is an improved power system of the 20th century characterized essentially by a two-way flow of energy and information. In that sense, the smart grid is sometimes called Energy Internet, where actors and components exchange... more

The smart grid is an improved power system of the 20th century characterized essentially by a two-way flow of energy and information. In that sense, the smart grid is sometimes called Energy Internet, where actors and components exchange energy and data with each other, similarly to the Internet where components and actors exchange data over a shared infrastructure. Many wired and wireless communications technologies could be used for smart grid communications. According to IEEE P2030, the three main quality attributes for robust smart grid communications are latency, reliability, and quality of service. Communications latency between a given pair of source and destination nodes is expressed as the time when the message is generated and the time when it is received at the reception side. Reliability is formally defined as the ability to perform a certain task for given conditions during a certain period of time. According to Telecom Italia, the current trend in the access networks is the convergence of fiber-to- the-home (FTTH) for their durability, reliability, and energy efficiency. China Telecom deployed over 70 millions FTTH ports between 2004 and 2012. Furthermore, China Telecom predicts that the major upcoming trends are: (i) increase of fiber penetration (ii) more capacity and speed, from 1 Gbps passive optical networks (PONs) towards 40 Gbps in a single PON system and (iii) increase of the coverage by integrating wired, wireless, and mobile nodes. According to China Telecom, PONs will converge into fiber-wireless (FiWi) networks to combine their respective advantages. Optical networks offer huge capacity, immunity against electromagnetic interference, and wireless networks can be deployed quickly at a low cost and offer mobility. FiWi networks can also be enriched by integrating optical and wireless sensors. Such networks can use fiber Bragg grating optical-based sensors and wireless sensors compliant with IEEE 802.15.4 ZigBee. Integrating sensors allow to interact with real-world systems to monitor different parameters, including temperature, pressure, sound, etc. This is a great opportunity for the telecommunications and many economic sect ors , that is, sharing low-cost access networks for improved efficiency and sustainability. In the following, we quant if y the performance of emerging FiWi access networks and propose new mechanisms by means of probabilistic analyses. Such probabilistic analyses allow to quickly quantify the communications performance for large topologies. In smart grid solutions, innovative partnerships hold great promise to enable utilities and other players to share smart grid communications infrastructures investments by transitioning from the traditional vertical network integration model towards splitting the value chain into multi-tier business models.