Patent ID: 8625993

Claim:
A wavelength-switched reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer with wavelength broadcasting capability, comprising: a wavelength selective switch comprising an input port operable for receiving an input optical signal and a plurality of output ports operable for outputting a plurality of output optical signals, wherein at least one of the plurality of output ports is designated as a broadcast port, and wherein the broadcast port is operable for outputting an output optical signal that is to be both locally received and broadcast; a splitter coupled to the broadcast port of the wavelength selective switch, wherein the splitter splits the output optical signal outputted by the broadcast port into a locally received optical signal and a broadcast optical signal; and a combiner located between the broadcast port of the wavelength selective switch and the splitter, collectively, and a first multiplexer, wherein the combiner combines the broadcast optical signal received from the broadcast port and the splitter, collectively, with a plurality of locally added optical signals multiplexed by the first multiplexer prior to transmitting a resulting signal to a second multiplexer for multiplexing of the resulting signal with an express optical signal.