Analysis of WDM-PON for Next-Generation Back- and Fronthaul

An analysis of next-generation infrastructure for mobile back- and fronthaul is presented. The same infrastructure can be used for wireline backhaul and dedicated business access. Possible coexistence with FTTH residential access based on NG-PON2 TWDM is also analyzed. Further, different locations for pools of base-band units in fronthaul scenarios are compared with regard to resulting cost. It turns out that fronthaul with highly concentrated base-band unit pools can be cost-efficient even if fronthaul bit rates reach 10 Gb/s.