Patent ID: 8983308
Filing Date: 2015-03-17
Classification: H04B,H04J,H04Q

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: determining, with a controller in an optical network terminal (ONT) as part of a start-up operation of the ONT, an optical transport of an optical network coupled to the ONT at least in part by configuring the ONT to operate with different optical transports until the controller determines that data received by the ONT conforms to one of the different optical transports for which the ONT is configured; selecting, with the controller, for each configuration of the ONT, a bias voltage for a photodiode of an optical receiver of the ONT and a media access control (MAC) layer functionality based on the optical transport to which the ONT is configured; applying, with the controller, for each configuration of the ONT, the selected bias voltage to the photodiode and the selected MAC layer functionality, wherein, when the ONT is configured to conform to the optical transport of the optical network, applying the selected bias voltage to the photodiode causes a current that the photodiode outputs, when the photodiode receives optical power at a maximum power level defined by the optical transport, to be less than or equal to a maximum current that a trans-impedance amplifier (TIA) of the optical receiver is configured to detect and receive without overloading, wherein the determined optical transport is one of a plurality of different optical transports, and the optical receiver is configurable to conform to maximum power levels defined by each of the plurality of different optical transports; and configuring, with the controller, the ONT to thereafter conform to the optical transport of the optical network to which the ONT is coupled.