Patent ID: 9031409
Filing Date: 2015-05-12
Classification: H04B,H04J,H04L

Abstract:
1. A headend communications device for communicating via a network to downstream network elements coupled behind optical network units and for allocating and granting timeslots for upstream transmissions originating from the network elements, comprising: a scheduler for managing and controlling timeslot allocations for the network elements in a manner minimizing upstream interference with respect to the upstream transmissions, said scheduler identifying two or more of the network elements served by the headend communications device that are coupled behind optical network units that if permitted to simultaneously send optical upstream transmissions in a return path on the network will cause at least a pre-determined intolerable level of upstream interference, and said scheduler preventing said two or more network elements from being allocated and granted overlapping timeslots; and a wavelength estimation module that estimates a transmit wavelength for optical network units associated with each network element, estimates an expected level of interference resulting from overlapping allocations of timeslots from network elements based on the transmit wavelength estimates, and provides this information to said scheduler.