Adaptive forward error correction in passive optical networks

An apparatus implemented in an optical line terminal (OLT) configured to perform an adaptive forward error correction (FEC) in a passive optical network, comprising:

• a processor for at least setting a downstream FEC code based on a plurality of measured downstream BER values and setting for an optical network unit (ONU) in the PON an upstream FEC mode and an upstream FEC code based on a measured upstream BER value;
• a FEC encoder/decoder for FEC encoding data using the downstream FEC code and for FEC decoding upstream burst data received from an ONU based on its respective upstream FEC code;
• a BER measurement unit for measuring an upstream BER value for the ONU;
• and
• a memory for storing a list of FEC codes that can be set for the upstream FEC code and the downstream FEC code, wherein the memory also stores an upstream FEC code and an upstream FEC mode set for the ONU.

A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions for causing a processor to perform an adaptive forward error correction (FEC) in a passive optical network (PON), comprising:

• selecting an initial downstream FEC code to be applied on downstream data transmitted from an optical line terminal (OLT) to a plurality of optical network units (ONUs) of the PON;
• communicating the selected downstream FEC code to the plurality of ONUs;
• receiving at least one downstream BER value from at least one ONU of the plurality of ONUs, wherein the downstream BER value is measured respective to downstream data received at the at least one ONU;
• and
• changing the selected downstream FEC code to a new downstream FEC code based on a plurality of downstream BER values measured by the at least one ONU;
• and
• communicating the new downstream FEC code to the plurality of ONUs.