Bit Loading for Optical Discrete Multi-Tone Transmission

A network component configured for bit loading for optical discrete multi-tone (DMT) transmission or reception, the network component comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the processor, the programming including instructions to:
• receive a bit data stream, wherein the bit data stream comprises a plurality of subcarriers;
• assign a code rate to each of a plurality of forward error correction (FEC) encoders/decoders according to a mapping of a signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) to a code rate for each of the subcarriers or subcarrier groups, wherein each FEC encoder/decoder corresponds to a respective one of the subcarriers or a respective subcarrier group;
• and
• assign a modulation format to each subcarrier or each subcarrier group according to a mapping of an SNR for each subcarrier or subcarrier group to a bit number for a corresponding subcarrier or subcarrier group.

A method for bit loading for optical discrete multi-tone (DMT) transmission or reception, comprising:

• receiving a plurality of data bits comprising a plurality of subcarriers;
• mapping a signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) to a modulation format and a code rate for each subcarrier or group of subcarriers;
• performing forward error correction (FEC) on each subcarrier or group of subcarriers according to the code rate corresponding to the subcarrier or group of subcarriers;
• and
• jointly optimizing a bit number, code rate, and power for each subcarrier or group of subcarriers according to the SNR for the corresponding subcarrier or group of subcarriers and according to the modulation format.