Method and device for providing multicast services to multiple customers

An Optical Line Termination (OLT) for a PON communication system, capable of performing multicast transmission, using IGMP protocol and an IGMP router, to a plurality of Optical Network Terminations (ONTs) each associated with an IGMP host and serving respective end customers of the PON communication system, the OLT being capable of:

• receiving an IGMP request for a multicast channel from a particular end customer via a particular ONT, and forwarding said IGMP request to the IGMP router;
• if said particular end customer is added to a multicast group by said IGMP router, the OLT being operative to
• deliver information over said multicast channel to the end customers belonging to said multicast group, and
• ensure, for said particular end customer, access to the information delivered over said multicast channel in response to said IGMP request by producing and sending a code key message to the particular ONT, wherein the code key message comprises access data intended for said ONT and comprising service information for suitable configuring the particular ONT to the requested multicast channel, including one or more information fields selected from among the fields indicating:
• service type, traffic type, service priority, data rate, flow ID, maximal latency/jitter, bit error rate (BER), port ID.

An Optical Network Termination (ONT) for serving, in association with IGMP host, an end customer in a PON communication system, the ONT being capable of:

• forwarding an IGMP request for a multicast channel from the end customer to an Optical Line Termination (OLT) being in communication with IGMP router,
• receiving information over the requested multicast channel from said OLT,
• receiving a code key message from the OLT and deriving there-from access data intended for said ONT, wherein the access data comprises service information including one or more information fields selected from among the fields indicating:
• service type, traffic type, service priority, data rate, flow ID, maximal latency/jitter, bit error rate (BER), port ID;
• ensuring access to the information delivered over said multicast channel in response to the derived access data.