RF signal transport over passive optical networks

An optical line terminal (OLT) for transporting radio frequency (RF) signals in an Ethernet passive optical network (EPON), comprising:

• a reference-clock-transmitting module configured to transmit a frequency and phase-reference signal to an optical network unit (ONU);
• a packet-receiving mechanism configured to receive a packet that includes a digitized RF signal from the ONU;
• a buffer configured to buffer the received packet;
• a delay mechanism configured to delay reading the received packet from the buffer for a predetermined amount of time;
• and
• a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) configured to convert the digitized RF signal included in the packet back to an RF domain using a clock signal associated with the frequency and phase-reference signal, thereby facilitating RF signal transport over the EPON.

An Ethernet passive optical network (EPON) system for transporting radio frequency (RF) signals, comprising:

• a reference clock configured to generate a frequency and phase-reference signal;
• an optical network unit (ONU), the ONU comprising:
• a reference-clock receiving mechanism configured to receive the frequency and phase-reference signal from an optical line terminal (OLT);
• an RF-signal-receiving mechanism configured to receive an RF signal;
• an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) configured to convert the RF signal into a digital signal using a sampling signal associated with the frequency and phase-reference signal;
• a packet-assembling mechanism configured to assemble at least a portion of the digital signal into a packet;
• a timestamping mechanism configured to timestamp the packet;
• and
• an optical transceiver configured to transmit the packet to the OLT;
• wherein the OLT is coupled to the reference clock, the OLT comprising:
• a packet-receiving mechanism configured to receive the packet from the ONU;
• a buffer configured to buffer the received packet;
• a delay mechanism configured to delay reading the received packet from the buffer for a predetermined amount of time;
• and
• a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) configured to convert the digital signal included in the packet back to an RF domain using a clock signal associated with the frequency and phase-reference signal, thereby facilitating RF signal transport over the EPON.