Distributed terminal optical transmission system

Abstract

The invention facilitates optical signals generated from customer premise equipment (CPE) at the edges of the metro domain networks. The CPEs are connected to extension terminals that transform the optical signal originating at the CPE into a suitable format for long haul transmission. The optical signal then propagates to a primary terminal where the signal is multiplexed with other optical signals from other extension terminals. The multiplexed signals are then transmitted over LH or ULH network to a second primary terminal where the signal is then demultiplexed from other optical signals and transmited to the proper extension terminal. At the extension terminal, the demultiplexed optical signal is transformed from its LH format back into a format suitable for inter-connection to a CPE. Using this architecture, the signal under goes optical-to-electrical conversion only at the extension terminals or end points. These end points can be located in lessee's facility. The only equipment located in lessor's facility is the primary terminal containing line amplifiers and add/drop nodes.

1. A primary terminal of an optical transport system, the primary terminal comprising:
 a transponder coupled to a customer premise equipment, wherein the transponder is configured to convert a first optical signal from the customer premise equipment into a first individual long-haul optical signal, and wherein the first optical signal is in a format suitable for use by the customer premise equipment; 
 a coarse multiplexer coupled to the transponder, wherein the coarse multiplexer is configured to multiplex the first individual long-haul optical signal into a first mux group of long-haul optical signals; and 
 a fine multiplexer coupled to the coarse multiplexer and to an extension terminal via a metro fiber, wherein the fine multiplexer is configured to receive a second mux group of long-haul optical signals from the extension terminal, 
 wherein the fine multiplexer is configured to multiplex the first mux group from the coarse multiplexer and the second mux group from the extension terminal into a third mux group of long-haul optical signals, and 
 wherein the primary terminal is configured to transmit the third mux group over a long-haul network. 
 
     
     
       2. The primary terminal of  claim 1  further comprising an amplifier coupled to the fine multiplexer, wherein the amplifier is configured to amplify the third mux group from the fine multiplexer. 
     
     
       3. The primary terminal of  claim 1 , wherein the coarse multiplexer and the fine multiplexer each include one of an optical interleaver, a banded dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) filter, or a tunable filter. 
     
     
       4. The primary terminal of  claim 1  further comprising a first demultiplexer coupled to the long-haul network,
 wherein the first demultiplexer is configured to demultiplex a fourth mux group of long-haul optical signals from the long-haul network into a fifth mux group of long-haul optical signals and a sixth mux group of long-haul optical signals, and 
 wherein the primary terminal is configured to transmit the fifth mux group to the extension terminal via the metro fiber. 
 
     
     
       5. The primary terminal of  claim 4  further comprising an amplifier coupled to the first demultiplexer, wherein the amplifier is configured to amplify the fourth mux group from the long-haul network. 
     
     
       6. The primary terminal of  claim 4  further comprising a second demultiplexer coupled to the first demultiplexer and to the transponder, wherein the second demultiplexer is configured to demultiplex the sixth mux group from the first demultiplexer into a second individual long-haul optical signal. 
     
     
       7. The primary terminal of  claim 6 , wherein the first demultiplexer comprises a fine demultiplexer and the second demultiplexer comprises a coarse demultiplexer. 
     
     
       8. The primary terminal of  claim 6 , wherein the first and second demultiplexers each include one of an optical de-interleaver, a banded dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) filter, or a tunable filter. 
     
     
       9. The primary terminal of  claim 6 , wherein the transponder is further configured to convert the second individual long-haul optical signal from the second demultiplexer into a second optical signal, and
 wherein the second optical signal is in the format suitable for use by the customer premise equipment. 
 
     
     
       10. The primary terminal of  claim 9 , wherein the primary terminal is further configured to transmit the second optical signal to the customer premise equipment. 
     
     
       11. A method for transporting optical signals at a primary terminal, the method comprising:
 converting a first optical signal from a customer premise equipment into a first individual long-haul optical signal, wherein the first optical signal is in a format suitable for use by the customer premise equipment; 
 multiplexing, via a coarse multiplexer, the first individual long-haul optical signal into a first mux group of long-haul optical signals, 
 receiving a second mux group of long-haul optical signals from an extension terminal via a metro fiber; 
 multiplexing, via a fine multiplexer, the first mux group and the second mux group into a third mux group of long-haul optical signals; and 
 transmitting the third mux group over a long-haul network. 
 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11  further comprising amplifying the third mux group. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 11  further comprising:
 demultiplexing a fourth mux group of long-haul optical signals from the long-haul network into a fifth mux group of long-haul optical signals and a sixth mux group of long-haul optical signals; and 
 transmitting the fifth mux group to the extension terminal via the metro fiber. 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 13  further comprising amplifying the fourth mux group. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 13  demultiplexing the sixth mux group into a second individual long-haul optical signal. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 15  further comprising converting the second individual long-haul optical signal into a second optical signal, wherein the second optical signal is in the format suitable for use by the customer premise equipment. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 16  further comprising transmitting the second optical signal to the customer premise equipment. 
     
     
       18. An optical transport system for transporting optical signals, the optical transport system comprising:
 an extension terminal coupled to a first customer premise equipment; and 
 a primary terminal coupled to the extension terminal via a metro fiber, wherein the primary terminal comprises a coarse multiplexer and a fine multiplexer, 
 wherein the extension terminal is configured to receive a first optical signal suitable for use by the first customer premise equipment and to convert the first optical signal into a first individual long-haul optical signal, 
 wherein the extension terminal is further configured to multiplex the first individual long-haul optical signal into a first mux group of long-haul optical signals and to transmit the first mux group to the fine multiplexer of the primary terminal via the metro fiber. 
 
     
     
       19. The optical transport system of  claim 18 , wherein the primary terminal is configured to transmit the first mux group over a long-haul network. 
     
     
       20. The optical transport system of  claim 18 , wherein the primary terminal is coupled to a second customer premise equipment,
 wherein is the primary terminal configured to receive a second optical signal suitable for use by the second customer premise equipment and to convert the second optical signal into a second individual long-haul optical signal, and 
 wherein the primary terminal is further configured to multiplex, via the coarse multiplexer, the second individual long-haul optical signal into a second mux group of long-haul optical signals. 
 
     
     
       21. The optical transport system of  claim 20 , wherein the primary terminal is further configured to multiplex, via the fine multiplexer, the first mux group and the second mux group into a third mux group of long-haul optical signals, and
 wherein the primary terminal is further configured to transmit the third mux group over a long-haul network. 
 
     
     
       22. The optical transport system of  claim 21 , wherein the primary terminal is further configured to amplify the third mux group. 
     
     
       23. The optical transport system of  claim 18 , wherein the extension terminal is further configured to amplify the first mux group. 
     
     
       24. An optical transport system for transporting optical signals, the optical transport system comprising:
 an extension terminal coupled to a first customer premise equipment; and 
 a primary terminal coupled to the extension terminal via a metro fiber, 
 wherein the primary terminal comprises a coarse demultiplexer and a fine demultiplexer, 
 wherein the primary terminal is configured to receive a first mux group of long-haul optical signals from a long-haul network, 
 wherein the fine demultiplexer configured to demultiplex the first mux group into a second mux group of long-haul optical signals and a third mux group of long-haul optical signals, 
 wherein the coarse demultiplexer is configured to demultiplex the second mux group, 
 wherein the primary terminal is further configured to transmit the third mux group to the extension terminal via the metro fiber, 
 wherein the extension terminal is configured to demultiplex the third mux group into a first individual long-haul signal, and 
 wherein the extension terminal is further configured to convert the first individual long-haul signal into a first optical signal suitable for use by the first customer premise equipment and to transmit the first optical signal to the first customer premise equipment. 
 
     
     
       25. The optical transport system of  claim 24 , wherein the primary terminal is coupled to a second customer premise equipment,
 wherein the coarse demultiplexer is configured to demultiplex the second mux group into a second individual long-haul optical signal, and 
 wherein the primary terminal is further configured to convert the second individual long-haul optical signal into a second optical signal suitable for use by the second customer premise equipment and to transmit the second optical signal to the second customer premise equipment. 
 
     
     
       26. The optical transport system of  claim 24 , wherein the primary terminal is further configured to amplify the first mux group. 
     
     
       27. The optical transport system of  claim 24 , wherein the extension terminal is further configured to amplify the second mux group. 
     
     
       28. A primary terminal of an optical transport system, the primary terminal comprising:
 a fine demultiplexer coupled to a long-haul network and to an extension terminal, wherein the fine demultiplexer is configured to demultiplex a first mux group of long-haul optical signals from the long-haul network into a second mux group of long-haul optical signals and a third mux group of long-haul optical signals; 
 a coarse demultiplexer coupled to the fine demultiplexer, wherein the coarse demultiplexer is configured to demultiplex the second mux group into a first individual long-haul optical signal; and 
 a transponder coupled to the coarse demultiplexer and to a customer premise equipment, wherein the transponder is configured to convert the first individual long-haul optical signal into a first optical signal that is in a format suitable for use by the customer premise equipment, 
 wherein the transponder is configured to transmit the first optical signal to the customer premise equipment, and 
 wherein the primary terminal is configured to transmit the third mux group to the extension terminal over a metro fiber. 
 
     
     
       29. The primary terminal of  claim 28  further comprising an amplifier coupled between the long-haul network and the fine demultiplexer, wherein the amplifier is configured to amplify the first mux group from the long-haul network. 
     
     
       30. The primary terminal of  claim 28 , wherein the coarse demultiplexer and the fine demultiplexer each include one of an optical interleaver, a banded dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) filter, or a tunable filter. 
     
     
       31. The primary terminal of  claim 28 , wherein the transponder is further configured to receive a second optical signal from a second customer premise equipment and to convert the second optical signal into a second individual long-haul optical signal. 
     
     
       32. The primary terminal of  claim 31  further comprising a coarse multiplexer coupled to the transponder, wherein the coarse multiplexer is configured to multiplex the second individual long-haul optical signal into a fourth mux group of long-haul optical signals. 
     
     
       33. The primary terminal of  claim 32  further comprising a fine multiplexer coupled to the coarse multiplexer and the extension terminal, wherein the fine multiplexer is configured to receive a fifth mux group of long-haul optical signals from the extension terminal. 
     
     
       34. The primary terminal of  claim 33 , wherein the fine multiplexer is configured to multiplex the fourth mux group and the fifth mux group into a sixth mux group of long-haul optical signals. 
     
     
       35. The primary terminal of  claim 34  further comprising an amplifier coupled to the fine multiplexer, wherein the amplifier is configured to amplify the sixth mux group from the fine multiplexer. 
     
     
       36. The primary terminal of  claim 34 , wherein the primary terminal is configured to transmit the sixth mux group over the long-haul network. 
     
     
       37. A primary terminal of an optical transport system, the primary terminal comprising:
 a transponder configured to convert a first optical signal from a customer premise equipment into a first individual long-haul optical signal, and wherein the first optical signal is in a format suitable for use by the customer premise equipment;   a coarse multiplexer coupled to the transponder, wherein the coarse multiplexer is configured to multiplex the first individual long-haul optical signal into a first mux group of long-haul optical signals; and   a fine multiplexer coupled to the coarse multiplexer, wherein the fine multiplexer is configured to receive a second mux group of long-haul optical signals from an extension terminal via a metro fiber,   wherein the fine multiplexer is configured to multiplex the first mux group from the coarse multiplexer and the second mux group from the extension terminal into a third mux group of long-haul optical signals, and   wherein the primary terminal is configured to transmit the third mux group over a long-haul network.   
     
     
       38. The primary terminal of claim 37 further comprising an amplifier coupled to the fine multiplexer, wherein the amplifier is configured to amplify the third mux group from the fine multiplexer. 
     
     
       39. The primary terminal of claim 37, wherein the coarse multiplexer and the fine multiplexer each include one of an optical interleaver, a banded dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) filter, or a tunable filter. 
     
     
       40. The primary terminal of claim 37 further comprising a first demultiplexer,
 wherein the first demultiplexer is configured to demultiplex a fourth mux group of long-haul optical signals from the long-haul network into a fifth mux group of long-haul optical signals and a sixth mux group of long-haul optical signals, and   wherein the primary terminal is configured to transmit the fifth mux group to the extension terminal via the metro fiber.   
     
     
       41. The primary terminal of claim 40 further comprising an amplifier coupled to the first demultiplexer, wherein the amplifier is configured to amplify the fourth mux group from the long-haul network. 
     
     
       42. The primary terminal of claim 40 further comprising a second demultiplexer coupled to the first demultiplexer and to the transponder, wherein the second demultiplexer is configured to demultiplex the sixth mux group from the first demultiplexer into a second individual long-haul optical signal. 
     
     
       43. The primary terminal of claim 42, wherein the first demultiplexer comprises a fine demultiplexer and the second demultiplexer comprises a coarse demultiplexer. 
     
     
       44. The primary terminal of claim 42, wherein the first and second demultiplexers each include one of an optical de-interleaver, a banded dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) filter, or a tunable filter. 
     
     
       45. The primary terminal of claim 42, wherein the transponder is further configured to convert the second individual long-haul optical signal from the second demultiplexer into a second optical signal, and
 wherein the second optical signal is in the format suitable for use by the customer premise equipment.   
     
     
       46. The primary terminal of claim 45, wherein the primary terminal is further configured to transmit the second optical signal to the customer premise equipment. 
     
     
       47. An optical transport system tor transporting optical signals, the optical transport system comprising:
 an extension terminal configured to receive a first optical signal from a first customer premise equipment, the first optical signal suitable for use by the first customer premise equipment; and   a primary terminal coupled to the extension terminal, wherein the primary terminal comprises a coarse multiplexer and a fine multiplexer,   wherein the extension terminal is configured to convert the first optical signal into a first individual long-haul optical signal,   wherein the extension terminal is further configured to multiplex the first individual long-haul optical signal into a first mux group of long-haul optical signals and to transmit the first mux group to the fine multiplexer of the primary terminal via a metro fiber.   
     
     
       48. The optical transport system of claim 47, wherein the primary terminal is configured to transmit the first mux group over a long-haul network. 
     
     
       49. The optical transport system of claim 47,
 wherein the primary terminal is configured to receive a second optical signal from a second customer premise equipment, the second optical signal suitable for use by the second customer premise equipment, and the primary terminal is configured to convert the second optical signal into a second individual long-haul optical signal, and   wherein the primary terminal is further configured to multiplex, via the coarse multiplexer, the second individual long-haul optical signal into a second mux group of long-haul optical signals.   
     
     
       50. The optical transport system of claim 49, wherein the primary terminal is further configured to multiplex, via the fine multiplexer, the first mux group and the second mux group into a third mux group of long-haul optical signals, and
 wherein the primary terminal is further configured to transmit the third mux group over a long-haul network.   
     
     
       51. The optical transport system of claim 50, wherein the primary terminal is further configured to amplify the third mux group. 
     
     
       52. The optical transport system of claim 47, wherein the extension terminal is further configured to amplify the first mux group. 
     
     
       53. An optical transport system for transporting optical signals, the optical transport system comprising:
 an extension terminal; and   a primary terminal coupled to the extension terminal,   wherein the primary terminal comprises a coarse demultiplexer and a fine demultiplexer,   wherein the primary terminal is configured to receive a first mux group of long-haul optical signals from a long-haul network,   wherein the fine demultiplexer is configured to demultiplex the first mux group into a second mux group of long-haul optical signals and a third mux group of long-haul optical signals,   wherein the coarse demultiplexer is configured to demultiplex the second mux group,   wherein the primary terminal is further configured to transmit the third mux group to the extension terminal via a metro fiber,   wherein the extension terminal is configured to demultiplex the third mux group into a first individual long-haul signal, and   wherein the extension terminal is further configured to convert the first individual long-haul signal into a first optical signal suitable for use by a first customer premise equipment and to transmit the first optical signal to the first customer premise equipment.   
     
     
       54. The optical transport system of claim 53,
 wherein the coarse demultiplexer is configured to demultiplex the second mux group into a second individual long-haul optical signal, and   wherein the primary terminal is further configured to convert the second individual long-haul optical signal into a second optical signal suitable for use by a second customer premise equipment and to transmit the second optical signal to the second customer premise equipment.   
     
     
       55. The optical transport system of claim 53, wherein the primary terminal is further configured to amplify the first mux group. 
     
     
       56. The optical transport system of claim 53, wherein the extension terminal is further configured to amplify the second mux group. 
     
     
       57. A primary terminal of an optical transport system, the primary terminal comprising:
 a fine demultiplexer configured to demultiplex a first mux group of long-haul optical signals from a long-haul network into a second mux group of long-haul optical signals and a third mux group of long-haul optical signals;   a coarse demultiplexer coupled to the fine demultiplexer, wherein the coarse demultiplexer is configured to demultiplex the second mux group into a first individual long-haul optical signal; and   a transponder coupled to the coarse demultiplexer, wherein the transponder is configured to convert the first individual long-haul optical signal into a first optical signal that is in a format suitable for use by a customer premise equipment,   wherein the transponder is configured to transmit the first optical signal to the customer premise equipment, and   wherein the primary terminal is configured to transmit the third mux group to an extension terminal over a metro fiber.   
     
     
       58. The primary terminal of claim 57 further comprising an amplifier coupled to the fine demultiplexer, wherein the amplifier is configured to amplify the first mux group from the long-haul network. 
     
     
       59. The primary terminal of claim 57, wherein the coarse demultiplexer and the fine demultiplexer each include one of an optical interleaver, a banded dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) filter, or a tunable filter. 
     
     
       60. The primary terminal of claim 57, wherein the transponder is further configured to receive a second optical signal from a second customer premise equipment and to convert the second optical signal into a second individual long-haul optical signal. 
     
     
       61. The primary terminal of claim 60 further comprising a coarse multiplexer coupled to the transponder, wherein the coarse multiplexer is configured to multiplex the second individual long-haul optical signal into a fourth mux group of long-haul optical signals. 
     
     
       62. The primary terminal of claim 61 further comprising a fine multiplexer coupled to the coarse multiplexer, wherein the fine multiplexer is configured to receive a fifth mux group of long-haul optical signals from the extension terminal. 
     
     
       63. The primary terminal of claim 62, wherein the fine multiplexer is configured to multiplex the fourth mux group and the fifth mux group into a sixth mux group of long-haul optical signals. 
     
     
       64. The primary terminal of claim 63 further comprising an amplifier coupled to the fine multiplexer, wherein the amplifier is configured to amplify the sixth mux group from the fine multiplexer. 
     
     
       65. The primary terminal of claim 63, wherein the primary terminal is configured to transmit the sixth mux group over the long-haul network.