Patent ID: 7924835
Filing Date: 2011-04-12
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of multicast transmission in a communication passive optical network (PON) by using IGMP protocol, to a plurality of hosts each associated with an IGMP host to serve respective end customers of the communication network, the method comprises: using IGMP protocol to request receipt of information along a multicast channel, by a particular end customer, adding said particular customer to a multicast group including, upon adding said particular end customer, at least one of the end customers, delivering the information along said multicast channel to the end customers belonging to said multicast group, and in response to said request, ensuring for said particular end customer access to the information delivered along said multicast channel by transmitting, to said particular end customer, access data including , service information for assisting receipt, by said end customer, of the information delivered along the multicast channel, and wherein the step of ensuring the access to the particular end customer comprises sending a code key message from said OLT to the particular ONT in response to said IGMP request, wherein the code key message comprises said service information, and said service information includes one or more information fields selected from among the fields indicating: service type, traffic type, service priority, data rate, flow ID, maximal latency/jitter, bit error rate (BER), port ID.