A transmission device for which a work path is established in a first degree and a protection path is established in a second degree includes: a switch equipped with a plurality of optical ports; an optical signal generator, optically connected to a first optical port, and configured to generate an optical signal that is transmitted through the work path; and a monitor light generator, optically connected to a second optical port, and configured to generate monitor light by using a wavelength tunable light source. The monitor light generator controls a wavelength of the monitor light to be substantially the same as a wavelength of the optical signal. The switch guides the optical signal that arrives at the first optical port toward the first degree and guides the monitor light that arrives at the second optical port toward the second degree.

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a system adapted for obtaining data from electromagnetic waves propagating in a transmission medium, and transmitting a plurality of wireless optical signals including the data responsive to determining that weather conditions are favorable for transmitting wireless optical signals, each wireless optical signal being directed to a different one of a plurality of communication devices. Other embodiments are disclosed.

An optical device includes a plurality of optical input ports, a plurality of optical output ports, a wavelength dispersion arrangement and at least one optical beam steering arrangement. The plurality of optical input ports is configured to receive optical beams each having a plurality of wavelength components. The wavelength dispersion arrangement receives the optical beams and spatially separates each of the optical beams into a plurality of wavelengths components. The optical beam steering arrangement has a first region onto which the spatially separated wavelength components are directed and a second region onto which any subset of the plurality of wavelength components of each of the optical beams is selectively directed after the wavelength components in each of the subsets are spatially recombined with one another. The optical beam steering arrangement selectively directs each of subset of the plurality of wavelength components to a different one of the optical output ports.

An optical line terminal (OLT) including a processor coupled to a transmitter. The processor is configured to send a first encrypted fiber to coax unit (FCU) message containing an optical domain multicast key to an FCU via an optical network. The optical domain multicast key is associated with encryption in an optical domain associated with the optical network. The processor is also configured to send a second encrypted FCU message containing an electrical domain multicast key to the FCU, and to send an encrypted coax network unit (CNU) message containing the electrical domain multicast key to a CNU via the FCU and a coaxial network. The electrical domain multicast key is associated with encryption in an electrical domain associated with the coaxial network. The first and second encrypted FCU messages and the encrypted CNU message may be operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) messages.

One embodiment is directed to a system for use with a coverage area in which one or more wireless units wirelessly transmit using a wireless radio frequency spectrum. The system comprises a first unit, and a plurality of second units communicatively coupled to the first unit using at least one communication medium. Each of the plurality of second units generates respective digital RF samples indicative of a respective analog wireless signal received at that second unit. Each of the plurality of second units communicates the respective digital RF samples generated by that second unit to the first unit using the at least one communication medium. The first unit digitally sums corresponding digital RF samples received from the plurality of second units to produce summed digital RF samples. The system is configured so that an input used for base station processing is derived from the resulting summed digital RF samples.

A terminal upgrade method and a related device are provided. The method includes: encapsulating, by an element management system (EMS), an upgrade version file supported by a type of terminal as a multicast program and storing the multicast program in a multicast server, or sending an upgrade version file supported by a type of terminal to a multicast server; establishing, by the EMS, a version-address mapping relationship; delivering, by the EMS, the version-address mapping relationship to a terminal; and delivering an upgrade start instruction to the terminal, to trigger the terminal to send a multicast program on-demand request to the multicast server, so that the terminal receives the multicast program that is stored in the multicast program storage address of the terminal and sent by the multicast server, and the terminal performs a version upgrade operation according to the received multicast program.

A method of validating connections in an optical add/drop multiplexer (OADM) that includes a plurality of modules configured to route optical signals through the OADM, and at least one multi-fiber cable connecting modules of the OADM. A light source coupled to a first port of a first module is controlled to emit a test light. A determination is made whether or not the test light is received at a first photo-detector connected to a second port. Continuity of a connection between the first port and the second port is validated when the test light is received at the first photo-detector.

Telecommunications switches are presented, including expandable optical switches that allow for a switch of N inputsM outputs to be expanded arbitrarily to a new number of N inputs and/or a new number of M outputs. Switches having internal switch blocks controlling signal bypass lines are also provided, with these switches being useful for the expandable switches.

A system includes an optical fiber cross-connect module with upstream ports and downstream ports, a first set of optical fibers connected from optical line terminals to the upstream ports, and a second set of optical fibers connected to the downstream ports and a customer optical network unit. The optical line terminals provide multiple wavelengths carrying optical signals at different bitrates over the first set of optical fibers. The customer optical network unit includes a tunable filter configured to receive any one of the multiple wavelengths. The optical fiber cross-connect module divides the optical signals received at each of the upstream ports into each of the downstream ports, and the customer optical network unit may be tuned to pass through a particular wavelength from the multiple wavelengths.

Disclosed herein are mechanisms to support the management of multicast keys for a multicast group comprising one or more optical line terminals (OLTs), one or more fiber to coax units (FCUs), and a plurality of coax network units (CNUs). The disclosed embodiments may support the management of multicast keys over optical and coaxial networks. In some embodiments, an FCU may facilitate communication of operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) messages containing multicast keys from one or more OLTs to one or more CNUs (typically a plurality of CNUs). Some embodiments may employ one multicast key over both the optical network and coaxial network. Other embodiments may employ an optical domain multicast key over the optical network and an electrical domain multicast key over the coaxial network. Embodiments may comprise adding a first CNU to a multicast group as well as adding subsequent CNUs to the multicast group.