What is a PON?

A PON or passive optical network is a point-to-multipoint fiber network in which unpowered splitters and fiber distribution equipment are utilized to allow a single strand of single-mode optical fiber to serve multiple end users. The PON system consists of an OLT (Optical Line Terminal) at the service provider's data center and ONUs (Optical Network Units, also referred to as ONT Optical Network Terminals) located in the Intermediate Distribution Frames (IDFs) at the end user's locations. PON is an economical way to reduce the fiber and copper equipment compared to point-to-point architectures. The broadest definition of the Passive Optical Networking (PON), is any optical network in which there are no active devices between a provider's central office electronics and the subscriber's premise. 'Central Electronics' usually refers to a central office or 'head end' type facility, but can include a remote terminal-type device if it serves a significant number of subscribers. The most common definition continues to define the PON as using optical splitting devices to manage light, reduce the feeder fiber counts and share optical transmitter (laser) ports.