Patent ID: 8879911

Claim:
An optical line terminal dynamically allocating communication bandwidth to a plurality of optical network units in an optical network, the optical line terminal comprising: a minimum bandwidth allocation unit calculating an allocation bandwidth of the plurality of optical network units based on bandwidth request information notified by the plurality of optical network units; a comparison unit comparing an allocation cycle given as a sum total of the allocation bandwidth allocated to the plurality of optical network units respectively with a predetermined threshold value; a best-effort bandwidth allocation unit calculating a remaining bandwidth as a best-effort bandwidth of the plurality of optical network units when the allocation cycle is less than the threshold value; and a bandwidth allocation unit allocating the communication bandwidth of the plurality of optical network units based on the allocation bandwidth and the best-effort bandwidth, wherein the optical line terminal exchanges control signals and data signals with the plurality of optical network units, and wherein the threshold value is a sum total of: a period during which the optical line terminal receives the control signals from the plurality of optical network units; a period during which the optical line terminal calculates bandwidth to be allocated to the plurality of optical network units; and a period during which the optical line terminal transmits the control signals to the plurality of optical network units.