Strategies for Economical Next Generation 50G and 100G PON [Invited]

This paper discusses whether scaling current TDM-PON technology based on intensity modulation with direct detection (IM-DD) with on-off-keying (OOK) to even higher bit rates can continue to meet future bandwidth demands in a cost-effective way or if other strategies like alternative modulation formats, transmission technologies, digital signal processing (DSP) and/or expansion of capacity via multiple wavelengths are required to enable economical next generation 50 and 100G PONs.