PONderings of a Network Engineer (denog13)

FTTH deployments and PONs (Passive Optical Networks) are coming up more often in discussions amongst network operators, and many times PON is used synonymous with inferior technology: only dark fiber is considered the one true solution. As a network engineer with a strong Service Provider background, I can relate to this viewpoint, and while it is technically correct, the real world imposes financial, logistical and administrative restrictions on companies building and operating FTTH networks, thus making PON more beneficial for them. This talk will give an overview of PON and PON designs (active and passive) and compares it with AONs (Active Optical Networks). Then it will show advantages and disadvantages of both technologies and give examples where one might choose one over the other technology. None about this event: https://pretalx.com/denog13/talk/MTVATA/