Patent ID: 8855492

Claim:
A method for an optical network unit (ONU) to access services provided by a plurality of optical line terminals (OLTs) in a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) passive optical network (PON), the OLTs being coupled to the ONU through an optical distribution network that includes an arrayed waveguide (AWG) having multiple ports that transmit multiple AWG cycles in both upstream and downstream directions, wherein each of the AWG cycles has a cyclically recurring wavelength pattern with an i-th wavelength in each of the AWG cycles being available at an i-th port of the AWG, the method comprising the steps of: receiving downstream signals from a first plurality of OLTs at the same time through a designated one of the ports of the AWG and a bandpass filter module coupled to the designated port, the first plurality of OLTs being allocated with a first plurality of AWG cycles for downstream transmission, the bandpass filter module being adapted to select any one of the first plurality of AWG cycles at a given time; and transmitting upstream signals to a second plurality of OLTs through the designated port of the AWG and the bandpass filter module based on received downstream signals, the second plurality of OLTs being allocated with a second plurality of AWG cycles for upstream reception, the bandpass filter module and a transmitter of the ONU being adapted to select any one of the second plurality of AWG cycles at a given time.