Optical network unit and power reduction method therefor

An optical network unit (ONU) comprising:

• a media access control (MAC) circuit configured to output a first upstream data, a second upstream data, and a transmission time information, wherein the transmission time information comprises a starting time of the first upstream data, an ending time of the first upstream data, and a starting time of the second upstream data;
• a control circuit configured to:
• receive the transmission time information and a laser guard time information;
• start outputting an laser diode (LD) driving signal a first time period before the starting time of the first upstream data, wherein the first time period is based on the transmission time information and the laser guard time information;
• and
• determine whether to stop outputting the LD driving signal based on the laser guard time information and a period between the ending time of the first upstream data and the starting time of the second upstream data;
• and
• an optical element configured to receive the first upstream data, the second upstream data, and the LD driving signal and output an output signal based on the first upstream data, the second upstream data, and the LD driving signal.