Techniques (e.g., method, apparatuses, etc.) for permitting communications, e.g., optical communications are described.

In one example, a first communication apparatus may send a bit allocation table, BAT, message, to a second communication apparatus. The BAT update information has a BAT update information signalling update information for updating a BAT which is signalled to be updated. The BAT update information groups information into different groups of subcarriers, wherein the BAT update information has, for each group of subcarriers, information indicating the number of carriers in the group.

An item of ONU equipment configures itself to communicate by a first transport system with OLT equipment in an optical access network, and starts a synchronisation for the first transport system and transmits by means of the first transport system. The ONU equipment transmits, via a protocol layer supervising any transport system of the optical access network, without waiting for the end of the synchronisation for the first transport system, information dependent on identifiers of the user equipment and the first transport system. When the transport system to be used is not the first transport system, the protocol layer supervising any transport system of the optical access network interrupts the synchronisation at the OLT equipment, and the ONU equipment reattempts the synchronisation with a second transport system; otherwise the synchronisation continues for the first transport system until the ONU equipment is put in communication in the optical access network.

Examples relating to techniques for wireless communications, e.g., visible light communication, VLC, are disclosed. In particular, there is disclosed a communication device for communicating with a plurality of other devices, using a wireless link. The device provides individual reference signals using a number of subcarriers or time slots in accordance to the optical clock reference and the number of transmitting devices in the set or streams to be transmitted in parallel. The device defines the position of subcarriers or of signals at the time slots in accordance to an identification number associated to an individual device within the whole set of transmitting devices or in dependence on an identification number identifying a specific stream or transmitter. The device transmits the reference signal which enables the plurality of receiving devices to identify the signal coming from the individual communication device in the whole set of devices.

A method and structure for equalization in coherent optical receivers. Block-based LMS (BLMS) algorithm is one of the many efficient adaptive equalization algorithms used to (i) increase convergence speed and (ii) reduce implementation complexity. Since the computation of the equalizer output and the gradient of the error are obtained using a linear convolution, BLMS can be efficiently implemented in the frequency domain with the constrained frequency-domain BLMS (FBLMS) adaptive algorithm. The present invention introduces a novel reduced complexity constrained FBLMS algorithm. This new approach replaces the two discrete Fourier transform (DFT) stages required to evaluate the DFT of the gradient error, by a simple frequency domain filtering. Implementation complexity can be drastically reduced in comparison to the standard constrained FBLMS. Furthermore, the new approach achieves better performance than that obtained with the unconstrained FBLMS in ultra-high speed coherent optical receivers.

A drive unit outputs a modulation signal based on a data signal input from an optical communication apparatus through a pluggable electric connector. An optical modulator outputs an optical signal generated by modulating a light output from a light source based on the modulation signal. A control unit controls a modulation operation of the optical modulator. The control unit outputs a driver signal instructing to start a setting operation to the optical communication apparatus. The optical communication apparatus monitors the modulation operation of the optical modulator in response to the driver signal and performs an operation of correcting the data signal and/or an operation of outputting a control signal representing a control setting for the modulation operation to the control unit based on a monitoring result. The control unit controls the modulation operation of the optical modulator based on the control signal when receiving the control signal.

A reception apparatus includes a detection unit that detects occurrence of a phase slip in phase estimation values of time-series received symbol data, and determines an inclination of the phase slip, a delay processing unit that generates first received signal data obtained by delaying received signal data obtained from the time-series received symbol data by one symbol time interval, a phase shift unit that generates second received signal data by performing phase shift according to the inclination, only in a period in which one symbol time interval elapses, on only the received signal data of a symbol time at which the occurrence of the phase slip is detected among pieces of the received signal data, and a remainder processing unit that derives a remainder of a difference between the second received signal data and the first received signal data.

Joint estimation of the framer index and the frequency offset in an optical communication system are described among various other features. A transmitter can transmit data frames using pilot and framer symbols. A receiver can estimate the framer index and frequency offset using the pilot and framer symbols, and identify the beginning of a header portion of a data frame. By identifying the beginning of the header portion of a data frame, the receiver can synchronize, with less error, the data transmitted by the transmitter and the data it received. To further improve the framer index estimation, a lock indicator signal can be generated to signal to other receiver components that the estimated framer indices are reliable. The receiver can determine frequency offset and additional framer index estimations with increased reliability when performed after the lock indicator signal is generated.

A frame synchronization apparatus (10) according to this invention includes a multiplication unit (11) configured to multiply a received signal by an inverse complex number of a predetermined synchronization pattern with respect to a predetermined signal point on a complex space diagram for each of a plurality of symbols of the received signal, an addition average unit (12) configured to perform addition averaging of outputs from the multiplication unit for the plurality of symbols of the received signal, and a synchronization determination unit (13) configured to perform coincidence determination of whether an output from the addition average unit (12) falls within a predetermined coincidence determination range of the predetermined signal point, and determine a synchronization state of the frame synchronization based on a result of the coincidence determination. According to this invention, it is possible to provide a frame synchronization apparatus that correctly determines a synchronization state even if an error rate of received symbols is high.

Consistent with the present disclosure independent phase and frequency clock recovery on each SC. Both leaf and hub perform digital clock recovery on each SC by increasing the Rx-ADC sampling rate by a few ppm (˜16 ppm), and using a delay compensating element, together with gapped clocks. The gaps and delay compensating elements are independent on each SC. The delay element is performed using the frequency domain DSP engine, where the frequency domain equalizer coefficients are modified with a delay compensating element Thus, each SC can have its own fine timing frequency and timing phase tuning, and fine tracking of its own jitter. When the delay compensating element, which, for example, may include a finite impulse response (FIR) filter, reaches the end of its range, a clock gap equal to an integer number of symbols is performed. The delay element can be reset by the same number of symbols providing continuous phase interpolation.

A local device of a time synchronization system includes a path switching unit that connects respective remote devices using individual optical fibers and switches the respective optical fibers sequentially in a cyclic order, a counter unit, a phase difference memory unit, and a table unit. The counter unit counts a pulse signal P1d demodulated by a PPS demodulation unit to obtain a count value. The phase difference memory unit stores the count value as path information in association with a phase difference detected by a phase detection unit, and outputs the phase difference associated with this path information indicated by the count value to the variable delay unit. When the count value is input, the table unit outputs a path switching signal for switching to the next optical fiber in the cyclic order to the path switching unit and the path switching unit performs switching to the next optical fiber.