To provide a communication apparatus capable of withstanding a short-time path failure while reducing network load. The communication apparatus included in communication apparatuses capable of forming a mesh free space optical communication network, includes: a communication section that transmits and receives packets each including (i) transmission information from a terminal, and (ii) determination information indicating a transmission source communication apparatus included in the communication apparatuses and connected to the terminal, and a transmission sequence; and a relay section that uses the determination information of a received packet and the determination information of a packet received in advance from at least one communication apparatus included in the communication apparatuses, to determine whether or not to relay the received packet to at least one communication apparatus in the communication apparatuses. The communication section transmits the received packet determined to be relayed by the relay section to the at least one communication apparatus.

An electronic-photonic integrated precision delay-control component comprises a coarse-delay switching unit that is configured to assume one of a plurality of selectable switching states and to feed, in a given one of the switching states, an optical input signal forward to at least one of a plurality of selectable optical coarse-delay paths. A controllable fine-delay unit is configured to subject the optical input signal to a selectable fine group-delay amount that is tuneable between zero and a maximum fine group-delay amount. The coarse-delay switching unit and the fine-delay unit are arranged in a series connection to control application of a respective total group-delay amount to the optical input signal on any selectable total delay path, the total group-delay amount corresponding to a sum of the respective coarse group-delay amount and of the selectable fine group-delay amount. Co-integration of electronic components allows a complete pulse train generation on one chip with low sensitivity to perturbation, low drift and low manufacturing costs. A desired delay of individual pulses of the optical input signal can be tuned on chip with particularly high precision at particularly high pulse repetition frequencies.