Understanding Passive Optical Network Testing

Loss Budget

Splitter
Location

Typical PON loss budget

Loss

Number/Link

Total Loss

Splitter (1:64)

18 dB

18 dB

Splices

0.1 dB

0.4 dB

Connectors

0.5 dB

1 dB

When the network is in service:

Downstream transmission from OLT to ONT:
- Voice, data & optional IP video at 1490 nm
- Optional analog video at 1550 nm

Fiber under Test

PON Fiber Installation and frame connection

Drop Terminal

Distribution Fibers

Feeder Fiber

ATM
B-PON
CO
DSLAM
E-PON
G-PON
IL
NOC
OLT
ONT
ONU
ORL
OTDR
PON
RFoG
TDM
WDM

When laying fiber, test splicing with OTDRs at 1310/1550 nm

(a bidirectional OTDR testing is recommended)

Patch Cord

Upstream transmission from ONT to OLT:

- Voice & data at 1310 nm

Fiber loss
1310 nm

0.35 dB/km

10 km

3.5 dB

1490 nm

0.22 dB/km

10 km

2.2 dB

1550 nm

0.2 dB/km

10 km

2 dB

1310 nm

1490 nm

1550 nm

22.9 dB

21.6 dB

21.4 dB

Total Loss

Attenua tio n
: attenuation coefficient of the fibre
A = L + s x + c y s: mean splice loss
c: mean loss of line connectors
x: number of splices
y: number of line connectors
L: link length

Splitter Port Loss

Number of ports

T-BERD/MTS-2000
OTDR/FiberComplete

Construction/Acceptance Testing

Fiber under Test

Loss Test Set/ORL Meter Testing

Patch Cord

OTDR Testing

Copper
Optical Splitter

Insertion loss

3 dB

6 dB

9 dB

12 dB

32

I1

18 dB

128

21 dB

O3

PON OLT

PON OLT
1490/1550 nm

1490/1550 nm

WDM

WDM

Distribution Fibers

Feeder Fiber
1310 nm

Acceptance testing with Loss test set/ORL meter

Connectorized splitter:
Link IL and ORL of the feeder part at 1310/1550 nm
Link IL and ORL of the distribution part at 1310/1550 nm
Spliced splitter:
IL and ORL between OLT and ONT at 1310/1550 nm

3
2
5

OLT-55/ORL-55
ORL/IL

Launch cable

Connector

Splitter

Turn-up and Troubleshooting Testing

Fiber under Test

Splice

Equipment Turn-up and Troubleshooting

Patch Cord

End of fiber

The peak of
ONT 1 is
missing

T-BERD/MTS-2000
OTDR/FiberComplete

In-Service
OTDR 1650 nm

Network Troubleshooting

Drop Terminal

ONT

Passive Splitter

PON OLT

1490/1550 nm

ONT

Passive Splitter

RF Video

ONT

Video AMP
OLP-4057
PON Power Meter

1490/1550 nm

1310 nm

Distribution
Fibers

WDM

Meter
3
1310 nm

Feeder Fiber

ONT

Next Gen PON

1310 nm

Drop Terminals

RF Video

B-PON

G-PON

E-PON

10 G-PON

10 GE-PON

RFoG over PON

Pure WDM

Span

20 km

60 km max, 20 km
differential

10/20 km

60 km max, 20 km
differential

10/20 km

20 km

60 km max, 20 km
differential

Maximum
IL

20/25/
30 dB

20/25/28/
30/32 dB

15/20 dB

20-30+ dB TBD

Maximum
number of
branches

32

64
(128 considered)

32

Down: 0.155,
0.62, 1.25
Up: 0.155 0.62

Down: 1.25 2.5

Down: 1.25

Down: 10

Down: 10

Up: 0.155, 0.62,

1.25, 2,48

Up: 1.25

Up: NG-PON1/
XG-PON1: 2.5
NG-PON1/
XG-PON2: 10
NG-PON2: 10

Up: 10

Drop Terminal

Video AMP

ONT

ONT

1310 nm ONT

Meter
1

Distribution Fibers

1490/1550 nm

RF Video
Video AMP

T-BERD/MTS-4000
OTDR/PON Power Meter

PON Standards

1490/1550 nm

Distribution Fibers

Feeder Fiber
1310 nm

Passive
Splitter

OTDRs can automatically monitor PON networks while in service. At each acquisition, it checks
the peak level that the reflective termination generates. The peak will disappear if the fiber is
cut or the level will decrease during attenuation. This system checks for fiber continuity from
the CO to the customer and is the only way to know whether problems stem from the physical
infrastructure (fiber, splitter, connector) or the equipment (OLT, ONU, ONT).

ONT

Central Office

PON OLT

Central Office

Meter
2

1490 nm 1550 nm

PON Equipment Turn-Up and Troubleshooting

Before activating the network or when connecting an ONT:
Measure optical power at the OLT (1490/1550 nm) to ensure
delivery of sufficient power to the ONTs
Measure optical power at each splitter output
Measure optical power at the ONT (1310/1490/1550 nm)
Use PON selective power meter to troubleshoot at any point in the network

PON Network Troubleshooting

Measure power levels with the ONT PON power meter
Conduct an OTDR test from the ONT or drop terminal (when some ONTs respond)
-> In-service OTDR (1625 or 1650 nm)
Conduct an OTDR test from the splitter or OLT (when no ONTs respond)

T-BERD/MTS-4000
OTDR/PON Power Meter

T-BERD/MTS-2000
OTDR

Bit rates
(Gbps)

ONT

JDSU Solutions

Through Mode
FTTH PON power meter for turn-up and
maintenance.
Simultaneously measure 1490, 1550 nm
(downstream) and 1310 nm (upstream)
In Through mode, insert a PON power meter
into a network to measure power levels
(for both upstream and downstream).
The PON power meter does not affect the traffic
and can be used to troubleshoot at any point
in the network.

Description

Through mode capability

Broadband Mode

ONT n

OLT

ONT

PON Power Meter

1xn

WDM

T-BERD/MTS-2000
OTDR

Central Office

WDM

Broadband power meter (780 up to 1650 nm)

Basic power level measurements
(when no 1550 nm video overlay is present).

Construction

FI-60 Fiber
Identifier

FFL-050 and FFL-100

Visual Fault Locator

P5000i

OTS-55 Optical
Talk Set

OLT-55 Loss
Test Set

ORL-55 Return
Loss Meter

The FI-60 identifies optical

signals on fiber without
opening it at the splice point.
It also can detect continuous
wave, live optical transmission,
and 270 Hz, 1 kHz, and 2 kHz
modulated tones.

A visual fault locator is

essential for quickly and easily
locating the exact area where
problems exist in fiber cables
so technicians can troubleshoot, diagnose, and fix them
efficiently.

The P5000i digital analysis

microscope makes it quick and
easy to certify that every
connection in your network is
clean and optimized. Inspect,
save pictures, and perform
pass/fail analyses using JDSU
T-BERD/MTS platforms.

The OTS-55 transmits digital

voice clearly over a single
fiber. Technicians can
conveniently use a headset or
speakerphone mode to
communicate hands-free.

The OLT-55 measures optical

power and IL. It is used for
installation, maintenance, and
troubleshooting of single
mode fiber. It also can be used
as a standalone power meter
or laser source.

The ORL-55 Optical Return Loss

Meter combines three functions
in one field-optimized
instrument, including an optical
return loss meter, an optical
power meter, and a triplewavelength laser source.

Turn-up
Troubleshooting

To learn more, visit www.jdsu.com/fttx

N o te: Sp eci ficati o n s, ter ms, and conditions are subject to change without notice.
2012 JDS U n i p h ase C o r p o r ati o n . A l l r i g h ts r eser ved . 30162962 001 0612 PON. PO. FOP. T M . A E

ONT 1

Switch

T-BERD/MTS-4000
OTDR/PON Power Meter

OTDR PON trace from the ONT with cascaded splitters

WDM

Copper

PON OLT

Drop Terminals

T-BERD/MTS-2000
Acceptance testing with OTDRs
OTDR/FiberComplete
Connectorized splitter:
Link/event IL and ORL of the feeder part at 1310/1550 nm
Link/event IL and ORL of the distribution part at 1310/1550 nm
Spliced splitter:
Link/event IL and ORL between OLT and ONT at 1310/1550 nm

ONT

OLT

ONT
ONT

1xn

WDM

ONT

Video AMP

Drop Terminals

Video AMP

OTDR PON Trace

Distribution Fibers
Feeder Fiber

RF Video

RF Video

ONT

1490 nm

1310 nm

ONT

1310 nm

Serving up to 10,000 customers

Passive Splitter

Passive Splitter

Note: Cascaded splitters always

induce a higher loss than a single
splitter (for the same split ratio)

Central Office

ONT

ONT

Asynchronous Transfer Mode

Broadband Passive Optical Network
Central Office
Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer
Ethernet Passive Optical Network
Gigabit Passive Optical Network
Insertion Loss
Network Operation Center
Optical Line Terminal
Optical Network Terminal
Optical Network Unit
Optical Return Loss
Optical Time Domain Reflectometer
Passive Optical Network
Radio Frequency Over Glass
Time Division Multplexing
Wavelength Division Multiplexing

PON Test System

ONT

Central Office

ONT

Central Office

Outputs

15 dB

64

O2

Input

T-BERD/MTS-2000
OTDR/FiberComplete

OLT-55/ORL-55
ORL/IL

Typical loss = 10 log (1/nb ports)

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Drop Terminal

Fiber Installation

Fib

sting

tic Te
er Op
e2

Volum

OLP-57 Selective PON

Power Meter

The OLP-57 Selective PON

Power Meter tests FTTX/PON
systems. Its through mode can
simultaneously measure all
three fiber wavelengths 1490
nm and 1550 nm downstream
and 1310 nm upstream

T-BERD/MTS-2000 and
T-BERD/MTS-4000

OTU-8000

The T-BERD/MTS-2000 and

T-BERD/MTS-4000 are modular
platforms. The OTDR module
measures attenuation along the
fiber, detect events, and
measures ORL and IL. The
selective PON power meter
measures power level in
pass-through mode

The OTU-8000 lies at the core

of JDSU optical network
management system (ONMSi)
combining an in-service OTDR
and an optical switch to
monitor hundreds of fiber links.

20/24/29 dB Like selected PON

64
64
(128/256 possible) (128 possible)

To be defined

64

64
(128/256 possible)

Like selected
G/E-PON
Like selected
G/E-PON

May fall under

NG-PON2
May fall under
NG-PON2

Down:
Down:
Down: 1490
1575 1580
1575 1580
Up: 1310
(WDM overlay
Up: 1260 1280
possible)
Return Path:
Up: 1260 1280
1570 or 1610

To be defined

Wavelengths Down: 1480 1500

(nm)
Up: 1260 1360

Down :
Down :
1480 1500
1400 1500
(WDM overlay Up: 1260 1360
Video overlay
possible)
Up: 1260 1360
1550

Traffic Mode

ATM

ATM, TDM,
WDM, Ethernet

Ethernet

TDM, WDM, Ethernet

NG-PON1:
G-PON compatible

Ethernet

TDM, WDM,
ATM

WDM

Video overlay

1550 nm

1550 nm

1570 nm

1550 nm

1550 nm

1550 nm

Yes, to be defined

ITU-T G.983.x

ITU-T G.984.x

IEEE 802.3ah

ITU-T G.987.x
Mid 2010

IEEE 802.3av
End 2009

IPS SP910

To be defined

Applicable
standard

Understanding PON Testing

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