Abstract:
A method for providing access to a passive optical network for services to homes or businesses from two or more telecommunications service providers and a billing means is described. A first service provider connects to a point of presence at one side of passive optical network. The provider transmits the appropriate services through this network to an authorization receiver. The authorization receiver is used to receive a periodic authorization code from the network provider to enable the appropriate services from the service provider to be transmitted to a subscriber at a home or business. The authorization receiver enables an optical fiber path to be established for the services to flow to and from the home or business. The authorization code that is transmitted through the network also provides an unambiguous means to provide a billing record such that the service provider can be billed by the network provider on an individual service address connected basis in conjunction with a record of houses passed and not yet connected.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present disclosure relates generally to the delivery of residential and business telecommunications services, and in particular, to a passive optical network for use by multiple telecommunications providers. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Telecommunications providers build very expensive networks in order to provide voice, data, video and other services to homes and businesses. Cable television companies, for instance, build Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) networks to provide voice, data, and video services to customers using Radio Frequency (RF) technology and Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) sharing schemes. Services are broadcast over these networks from a cable television headend and then demultiplexed, demodulated, and decoded as necessary by electronics located on the side of the house or business or within the building. These networks can cost several thousands of dollars per subscriber to build. 
         [0003]    Telephone companies use Gigabit Passive Optical Networks (GPON) to deliver voice, data, and video services to homes and businesses. Services are typically broadcast over a single optical fiber to an optical splitter. The splitter divides the power among several individual fibers which transmit these services to electronic units located on the side of or within a building. These electronic units must demultiplex, demodulate, and decode the transmitted signals as necessary to deliver the appropriate services to the individual subscribers. This type of network can also cost several hundred to several thousands of dollars per subscriber to build and operate. 
         [0004]    As technology, market conditions, and federal and state regulation has evolved, an economic inefficiency has been created resulting in network providers passing multiple sites, and serving only one, with the cost passed on primarily to the mass market of residential and small business users. In addition, discriminatory investment spending to upgrade networks, along with a lack of corporate investment in a recognized optimal fiber network solution, is being observed as the United States falls behind other countries in the percent of sites served with an end to end fiber solution. 
         [0005]    In order to save capital costs and operating fees, and to achieve the “broadband for all” goal for the common good, the services from different network providers can be sent over the same passive optical network. However, an effective and reliable sharing scheme needs to be developed in order for carriers to commit to placing their services over a shared network. Another problem with a typical shared network arrangement is that the manual switching devices used to connect or disconnect a customer service feed can be easily tampered with and do not provide remote monitoring of unauthorized usage for the individual service providers. A need therefore exists for an improved system and method for allowing multiple service providers to distribute services using the same network infrastructure. 
       SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0006]    In certain embodiments, a network for delivering telecommunications services comprises a point of presence unit maintained by a network provider for receiving service provider signals from at least two service providers. A plurality of authorization receivers are respectively associated with a plurality of user premises, with each authorization receiver comprising at least one optical switch. A passive optical network is connected between the point of presence, and the optical switch in each authorization receiver. The point of presence transmits a first service provider signal and a first plurality of authorization codes over the passive optical network to the plurality of authorization receivers. The point of presence also transmits the second service provider signal and a second plurality of authorization codes over the passive optical network to the plurality of authorization receivers. Each one of the authorization receivers allows the first service provider signal to be connected to the corresponding user premises if at least one of the first plurality of authorization codes matches an authorization code associated with the corresponding authorization receiver. Likewise, each one of the plurality of authorization receivers allows the second service provider signal to be connected to the user premises if at least one of the second plurality of authorization codes matches an authorization code associated with the corresponding authorization receiver. The network provider maintains a record of all connections and disconnections of the first and second service provider signals to and from the user premises and provides the record to the individual service providers. In certain embodiment, each service provider signal is transmitted over a separate optical fiber path within the passive optical network to a separate optical switch in each authorization receiver. 
         [0007]    In other embodiments, a method for providing telecommunications services over a network comprises the acts of providing a point of presence unit for receiving service provider signals from at least two service providers. A first and second service provider signal are respectively received from a first and second service provider. If the received signals are not already in an optical transmission format, they are converted into an optical transmission format. The first and second service provider signals are respectively transmitted over a passive optical network to a plurality of authorization receivers. Each authorization receiver is associated with an authorization code for each service provider, although in certain embodiments, the same authorization code may be used for both service providers. If the received authorization code matches the code associated with the authorization receiver, the associated service provider signal is allowed to pass from the authorization receiver to the equipment in the user premises. Again, the network provider maintains records of all connections and disconnections of the various service provider signals to and from the user premises. Each service provider receives detailed billing information concerning the connections and disconnections for their respective signals. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram of a passive optical network for delivering telecommunications services according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example connection scheme for the authorization receiver and optoelectronic transceivers according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a schematic block diagram of the authorization receiver according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a process flow diagram illustrating a method for using a passive optical network according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0012]    For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, and alterations and modifications in the illustrated device, and further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein are herein contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. 
         [0013]    The automatic connection and disconnection methodology described herein provides for a near real time connection or disconnection from a network that is difficult to fraudulently bypass and provides a detailed billing record related to the receipt of individual services provided by a telecommunications service provider over the network. The billing record sent to the provider may reflect all addresses connected to the network as well as those addresses that are disconnected (from an initial connected state) or never connected during a given billing period, allowing the provider to properly track and verify customer usage. 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  illustrates a schematic block diagram of a network  100  for providing telecommunications services to customer premises  105   a , 105   b , 105   c . Customer premises  105  typically comprise a residential home or business building. As shown, services from various providers are directed to a single point of presence  110  controlled by the network operator. The services typically originate from individual service provider equipment, such as cable headend  115  and telco central office  120 . Other types of provider equipment (represented by box  125 ) for delivering additional services may also be connected to the point of presence  110 . The services originating from the provider equipment  115 , 120 , 125  may include, but are not limited to, digital television services, broadband internet data services, telephone services, digital broadcast satellite services, video-on-demand services, security system connectivity and the like. 
         [0015]    Optical fibers  130 , 135  are connected between the point of presence  110  and an optical splitter  140  as shown. Additional optical fibers  145   a , 145   b , 145   c  and  150   a , 150   b , 150   c  are connected between the optical splitter  140  and interface electronics  155   a , 155   b , 155   c  at the individual customer premises  105 . It shall be understood that the interface electronics  155  may be located inside or outside of the customer premises  105 . 
         [0016]    The portion of the network  100  between point of presence  110  and interface electronics  155  comprises what is known in the art as a passive optical network. Passive optical networks generally do not incorporate active electronic or optical devices, which can be costly to purchase and have increased power requirements. Instead, passive optical devices, such as optical splitter  140 , are used to direct signals from a single optical fiber to multiple destinations. As one nonlimiting example, optical splitter  140  may route the signal from optical fiber  130  to optical fibers  145   a ,  145   b  and  145   c . Likewise, the signal from optical fiber  135  may be routed to optical fibers  150   a ,  150   b  and  150   c . It shall be understood that each optical splitter  140  may consist of multiple optical splitters in a single housing. For example, optical splitter  140  may contain two internal optical splitters wherein the optical fiber  130  connects to optical fibers  145   a ,  145   b  and  145   c , and optical fiber  135  connects to optical fibers  150   a ,  150   b , and  150   c.    
         [0017]    In certain embodiments, a single optical fiber path may be used transmit multiple service provider signals, as opposed to requiring a separate optical fiber for each service provider signal. For example, signals from cable headend  115  and telco central office  120  may both be transmitted over optical fiber  130  by either transmitting each signal on a different wavelength or transmitting the signals together using time division multiplexing methods. 
         [0018]    Since no active electronic switching devices are used between the point of presence  110  and the interface electronics  155  at the user premises  105 , the cost to install and operate the network  100  is reduced. However, it shall be understood that some active optoelectronic devices, such as signal repeaters or amplifiers, may be required at selected points in the network  100  in order to increase the signal strength over long fiber runs. 
         [0019]    As used herein, the term “passive optical network” shall refer to either a single set of optically connected fibers (such as optical fibers  130 ,  145   a ,  145   b  and  145   c ) or to multiple sets of optically connected fibers and their associated transmitting, splitting and receiving devices. The present disclosure contemplates that large numbers of parallel optical branches and/or multiple tiers of optical splitters may be employed to allow maximum scalability of the network  100 . 
         [0020]    It shall be further understood that various additional mechanical and optical devices may be employed to achieve the overall connectivity and stability of the optical fibers throughout the network  100 . For example, each optical fiber may actually be a series of optically joined fibers with the appropriate support devices to allow the fibers to be run over long distances and be protected from the environment. In one embodiment, parallel sets of optical fibers may be run between two connection points using a single multi-fiber cable. For example, optical fibers  145   a  and  150   a  may be run in a jacketed two-conductor fiber optic cable from optical splitter  140  to user premises  105   a . Additional optical fibers may also be contained in the cable to deliver services from additional service providers to the user premises  105   a  or to act as spares for future additional services. 
         [0021]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the interface electronics  155  at the home or business may include an authorization receiver  205  which is controlled by the network operator and optoelectronics units  210   a , 210   b  which are used to received and transmit video, voice, data, and other services from various service providers. It shall be understood that while two optoelectronic units  210  are shown, any number of optoelectronic units  210  may be utilized depending on the number of service providers that are supplying services to the customer premises  105 . In a preferred embodiment, a single authorization receiver  205  is used at each user premises  105 . The authorization receiver  205  receives the incoming provider content signals (via optical fibers  145 , 150 ) and directs the signals to the optoelectronics units  210 . Each optoelectronics unit  210  converts the associated optical provider signal into separate usable signals for the types of service being provided. For example, the optoelectronics unit  210   a  may separate the incoming signal from the authorization receiver  205  into individual voice, data and video signals for connection to individual devices in the user premises (e.g., telephones, computers, televisions, etc.). In other embodiments, the optoelectronics units  210  will simply convert the optical signal output by the authorization receiver  205  to an electronic signal, then direct the electronic signal to additional interface devices, such as Ethernet routers, cable modems, or television set top boxes, for connection to the individual consumer devices. 
         [0022]    In certain embodiments, the authorization interface electronics  155  may comprise a single unit which contains the authorization receiver  205  and multiple optoelectronics units  210 . In other embodiments, the authorization receiver  205  may be a separate unit, with individual optoelectronics devices  210  added depending on the number of service providers that wish to deliver services to the customer. The optoelectronics units  210  may be supplied by the network operator along with the authorization receiver  205  or may be supplied by the individual service providers. 
         [0023]      FIG. 3  shows a more detailed view of the authorization receiver  205 . As shown, a signal from a first service provider is transmitted to the authorization receiver  205  via optical fiber  145  as depicted. Each incoming optical fiber  145 , 150  is connected to a corresponding optical splitter  305   a , 305   b . The optical splitters  305  are each further connected to both an optical decoder  310   a , 310   b  and an optical switch  315   a , 315   b  as shown. Each optical decoder  310  is operatively connected to an associated optical switch  315  such that the optical decoder  310  is able to control the state of the optical switch  315  depending on the presence or absence of a particular authorization code embedded within or transmitted in addition to the incoming provider content signal. 
         [0024]    The optical decoder  310  transforms the received optical authorization signal into an electrical signal and decodes the signal. If the decoded signal contains the appropriate authorization code for the particular customer, an electronic signal is transmitted to the optical switch  315  such that the optical switch  315  enables the provider signal to be sent to the optoelectronics unit  210 . Once the optical switch  205  is closed, optical fiber signals can travel in both directions to and from the user premises. The authorization signal is sent periodically to “hold” the optical circuit closed such that voice, data, video, and other services can be transmitted over the optical path. 
         [0025]    An electronic record of the connection and disconnection of services to the individual user premises may be maintained at the point of presence  110  or other location. The electronic record preferably contains information detailing the time the authorization signal was first sent to an authorization receiver and the subscriber address associated with the authorization receiver. In certain embodiments, the point of presence  110  will record the time a “connect” authorization code was sent to an authorization receiver  205  and the time a “disconnect” authorization code was sent to the same authorization receiver  205 . In other embodiments, the point of presence  130  will record the time an initial authorization code was sent to the authorization receiver  205  and the time the point of presence  130  stopped sending additional “keep alive” authorization codes. This information can then be used to provide a detailed real time or periodic billing record to each service provider using the network. 
         [0026]    In one embodiment, the authorization code transmitted by the network provider is an eight bit binary code modulated onto a radio frequency (RF) carrier using quaternary phase shift keying (QPSK) or quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) schemes. The RF carrier signal may be located in the path of the service provider signal, but in an area of the RF spectrum or at a wavelength that does not interfere with the services being delivered to the subscribers. Once the authorization code is modulated onto the RF carrier, it is further transformed into an optical format along with the other RF carriers within the provider signal and transmitted to the authorization receiver  205 . The authorization receiver  205  converts the received optical signal back to an RF signal and demodulates the authorization code from the corresponding RF carrier. Other encoding schemes and alphanumerical formats known in the art for encoding and transmitting the authorization signal may also be used and are contemplated to be within the scope of the present disclosure. 
         [0027]    In addition to the elements discussed above, the components of the network  100 , including point of presence  110  and optoelectronics units  205 , may include one or more processors, memory, storage and input/output devices. Additionally, it shall be understood that the various system components discussed herein may be incorporated into one or more other components. It shall be further understood that the system components may be located in the same physical location or in separate locations from one another. Additionally, it should be appreciated that the representation in  FIGS. 1-3  are not intended to be detailed drawings showing all components of the network  100 . Further, for the sake of brevity, much of the standard internal workings, processes and operations of a telecommunications network will not be described in detail herein, as they are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. 
         [0028]      FIG. 4  illustrates an example method  400  of providing services from multiple telecommunications service providers to subscribers over a network. The process begins at step  402  when a first service provider directs a first provider signal to the point of presence  110 . Each provider signal sent to the point of presence  110  from provider equipment  115 , 120 , 125  may contain a single type of service signal (e.g., video) or multiple types of signals multiplexed together (e.g., voice, video, and data). 
         [0029]    At step  404 , the point of presence  110  receives the first provider signal, decodes it, and, if necessary, reformats it into an optical format suitable for transmission over optical fiber. It shall be understood that the individual service provider signals received by the point of presence  130  may be in a variety of formats, including non-optical and optical formats. The provider signal is then retransmitted to the optical splitter  140  over an optical fiber such as optical fiber  130 . Optical splitter  140  splits and again retransmits the first provider signal to all of the interface electronics units  155  which are connected to the optical splitter  140  via optical fibers  145 . It shall be understood that the provider signal may pass through additional optical splitters or other optical routing devices placed along the path between point of presence  110  and interface electronics  155 . 
         [0030]    At step  406 , the point of presence  110  determines the identity of the service provider which sent the signal and further determines which of the connected user premises are authorized to receive the signal. In one embodiment, the identification of the service provider can be done by simply checking to see which hardwired port sensed the signal in the point of presence  110 . In other embodiments, the point of presence can extract a provider identification code from within the provider signal. Other means of determining the provider identity may also be used and are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure. 
         [0031]    To determine which of the user premises are authorized to receive the provider content signal, the point of presence  110  can again extract subscriber information embedded in the provider content signal or look up the subscriber list in a separate database. It shall be understood that the database may be maintained within the point of presence  110  or in a separate server (not shown) which is in communication with the point of presence  110 . It shall be further understood that the customer identification information maintained by the network operator may be limited to the individual authorization codes in order to further protect customer privacy and prevent unwanted dissemination of customer billing information. 
         [0032]    Once the list of authorization codes are determined for a given content signal, the authorization codes are encoded into an authorization signal and transmitted over the optical fibers  130  and  145  and received by the authorization receiver  205 . Each authorization receiver  205  receives and decodes the authorization signal to determine if one of the transmitted authorization codes matches an authorization code assigned to that authorization receiver  205 . In one embodiment, the assigned authorization code for each individual authorization receiver  205  is set within the authorization receiver  205  before being installed at the customer premises. In other embodiments, the authorization code may be set remotely. 
         [0033]    If the received authorization code matches that of the authorization receiver  205 , the optical switch  315   a  is closed, allowing the first provider content signal to reach the optoelectronics unit  210   a  at step  408 . The optoelectronics unit  210   a  receives the provider content signal and separates it into the individual content signals (voice, video, internet) for delivery within the user premises  105   a.    
         [0034]    In one embodiment, the optical switch  315   a  will remain closed for a predetermined period of time after receiving the correct authorization code, after which time it will reopen if the authorization code is not received again. In this way, periodic authorization signals will continue to be sent to the authorization receivers  205  to maintain connectivity of the provider signal. If a user cancels their service or otherwise needs to be disconnected from service, the point of presence  110  will stop transmitting the authorization code for that user&#39;s authorization receiver, causing the authorization receiver  205  to disconnect the provider content signal from the optoelectronics unit  210   a . The network operator will keep track of all connections and disconnections of the provider content signal to each authorization receiver  205  and provide a detailed billing record to the service provider. 
         [0035]    At step  410 , a second service provider directs a second content signal to the point of presence  110  for delivery to one or more user premises  105 . The content signal is reformatted and transmitted over a different optical fiber  135  to optical splitter  140  and further directed to authorization receivers  205  via optical fibers  150  at step  412 . Again, the point of presence  110  determines the authorization codes for the authorization receivers  205  which are authorized to receive the content signal and transmits the codes as part of an authorization signal to the authorization receivers  205  (step  414 ). Each authorization receiver  205  which is able to decode a matching authorization code from the authorization signal then passes the provider content signal through optical switch  315   b  to the optoelectronics unit  210   b  for separation and distribution within the user premises (step  416 ). At step  418 , the process repeats for any additional service provider signals which are being supplied over the network  100 . 
         [0036]    It shall be understood that while the provider content signal has been described as being transmitted prior to the authorization signal, other timing schemes may be implemented and are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the authorization code signal or pulse may be transmitted regardless of whether a specific content stream is being transmitted by the service provider at a given time. In other embodiments, as described above, a “keep alive” authorization signal may be sent at periodic intervals to prevent the authorization receiver  205  from disconnecting the content signal from the user premises. In still further embodiments, the authorization receiver  205  will close the optical switch  315  upon receiving a matching authorization code and leave it closed until a separate “disconnection” code is received. 
         [0037]    It shall be further understood that signals may be transmitted in both directions between the point of presence  110  and the user premises  105 . For example, voice signals and internet email or browsing data will also need to be passed from the user premises  105  to the point of presence  110 . Because the same optical fiber is used to facilitate transmission in both directions, the optical switch  315  will also prevent such transmission when necessary. In certain embodiments, the point of presence  110  may require the authorization receiver  205  to send an acknowledgement signal back to the point of presence  110  indicating that the correct authorization code was received and/or indicating the current state of each switch  315  within the authorization receiver  205 . 
         [0038]    While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.