Standardization of Wireless Fronthaul and Backhaul Using Passive Optical Network

Driven by the growing market of wireless backhaul and fronthaul transport, serving wireless systems with passive optical networks (PONs) represents a significant set of work in the international standardization bodies. This chapter reviews PON features and the requirements of using PON for wireless backhaul and fronthaul transport. Solutions specified in ITU-T and IEEE standards are discussed in detail to resolve challenges such as PON link asymmetry, registration delay, and upstream scheduling latency. Application examples in 5G wireless backhaul and fronthaul transport are investigated based upon the mainstream PON technologies. New and on-going standardization efforts in the area are discussed as the last part of this chapter to highlight the directions and future work.