Table of Contents:

Definition and Overview

1. Introduction

2. Need for Optical Access

3. How Optical Access Fulfills the Need

4. Technology Workings

5. Access Topologies and Applications

6. Optical Access Benefits

7. Optical Access Summary

Self-Test

Glossary

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ASP
application service providers

ATM
asynchronous transfer mode

CLEC
competitive local exchange carrier

CO
central office

CPE
customer premises equipment

Dark Fiber
optical fiber that has been buried or deployed, but does not currently transport traffic; this fiber is considered "dark" or "unlit"

DSL
digital subscriber line

Gbps
Gigabits per second

ILEC
incumbent local exchange carrier

IP
Internet protocol

ISX
Internet service exchange

LAN
local-area network

OC
optical carrier

PoP
point of presence

PSTN
public switched telephone network

QoS
quality of service

SLA
service-level agreement

SNMP
signaling network management protocol

SONET
synchronous optical network

WDM
wavelength division multiplexing