I n t e r n a t i o n a l T e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n U n i o n

ITU-T G.989
TELECOMMUNICATION (10/2015)
STANDARDIZATION SECTOR
OF ITU

SERIES G: TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS AND MEDIA,

DIGITAL SYSTEMS AND NETWORKS
Digital sections and digital line system – Optical line
systems for local and access networks

40-Gigabit-capable passive optical networks

(NG-PON2): Definitions, abbreviations and
acronyms

Recommendation ITU-T G.989

 ITU-T G-SERIES RECOMMENDATIONS
TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS AND MEDIA, DIGITAL SYSTEMS AND NETWORKS

INTERNATIONAL TELEPHONE CONNECTIONS AND CIRCUITS G.100–G.199

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS COMMON TO ALL ANALOGUE CARRIER- G.200–G.299
TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS
INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS OF INTERNATIONAL CARRIER TELEPHONE G.300–G.399
SYSTEMS ON METALLIC LINES
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF INTERNATIONAL CARRIER TELEPHONE SYSTEMS G.400–G.449
ON RADIO-RELAY OR SATELLITE LINKS AND INTERCONNECTION WITH METALLIC
LINES
COORDINATION OF RADIOTELEPHONY AND LINE TELEPHONY G.450–G.499
TRANSMISSION MEDIA AND OPTICAL SYSTEMS CHARACTERISTICS G.600–G.699
DIGITAL TERMINAL EQUIPMENTS G.700–G.799
DIGITAL NETWORKS G.800–G.899
DIGITAL SECTIONS AND DIGITAL LINE SYSTEM G.900–G.999
General G.900–G.909
Parameters for optical fibre cable systems G.910–G.919
Digital sections at hierarchical bit rates based on a bit rate of 2048 kbit/s G.920–G.929
Digital line transmission systems on cable at non-hierarchical bit rates G.930–G.939
Digital line systems provided by FDM transmission bearers G.940–G.949
Digital line systems G.950–G.959
Digital section and digital transmission systems for customer access to ISDN G.960–G.969
Optical fibre submarine cable systems G.970–G.979
Optical line systems for local and access networks G.980–G.989
Metallic access networks G.990–G.999
MULTIMEDIA QUALITY OF SERVICE AND PERFORMANCE – GENERIC AND USER- G.1000–G.1999
RELATED ASPECTS
TRANSMISSION MEDIA CHARACTERISTICS G.6000–G.6999
DATA OVER TRANSPORT – GENERIC ASPECTS G.7000–G.7999
PACKET OVER TRANSPORT ASPECTS G.8000–G.8999
ACCESS NETWORKS G.9000–G.9999

For further details, please refer to the list of ITU-T Recommendations.

Recommendation ITU-T G.989

40-Gigabit-capable passive optical networks (NG-PON2):

Definitions, abbreviations and acronyms

Summary
Recommendation ITU-T G.989 contains the common definitions, acronyms, abbreviations and
conventions of the ITU-T G.989-series of Recommendations.

History
Edition Recommendation Approval Study Group Unique ID*
1.0 ITU-T G.989 2015-10-22 15 11.1002/1000/12561

* To access the Recommendation, type the URL http://handle.itu.int/ in the address field of your web
browser, followed by the Recommendation's unique ID. For example, http://handle.itu.int/11.1002/1000/11
830-en.

Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015) i

 FOREWORD
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations specialized agency in the field of
telecommunications, information and communication technologies (ICTs). The ITU Telecommunication
Standardization Sector (ITU-T) is a permanent organ of ITU. ITU-T is responsible for studying technical,
operating and tariff questions and issuing Recommendations on them with a view to standardizing
telecommunications on a worldwide basis.
The World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA), which meets every four years,
establishes the topics for study by the ITU-T study groups which, in turn, produce Recommendations on
these topics.
The approval of ITU-T Recommendations is covered by the procedure laid down in WTSA Resolution 1.
In some areas of information technology which fall within ITU-T's purview, the necessary standards are
prepared on a collaborative basis with ISO and IEC.

NOTE
In this Recommendation, the expression "Administration" is used for conciseness to indicate both a
telecommunication administration and a recognized operating agency.
Compliance with this Recommendation is voluntary. However, the Recommendation may contain certain
mandatory provisions (to ensure, e.g., interoperability or applicability) and compliance with the
Recommendation is achieved when all of these mandatory provisions are met. The words "shall" or some
other obligatory language such as "must" and the negative equivalents are used to express requirements. The
use of such words does not suggest that compliance with the Recommendation is required of any party.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

ITU draws attention to the possibility that the practice or implementation of this Recommendation may
involve the use of a claimed Intellectual Property Right. ITU takes no position concerning the evidence,
validity or applicability of claimed Intellectual Property Rights, whether asserted by ITU members or others
outside of the Recommendation development process.
As of the date of approval of this Recommendation, ITU had not received notice of intellectual property,
protected by patents, which may be required to implement this Recommendation. However, implementers
are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information and are therefore strongly urged to consult the
TSB patent database at http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/ipr/.

 ITU 2015
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, by any means whatsoever, without the
prior written permission of ITU.

ii Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015)

 Table of Contents
Page
1 Scope............................................................................................................................. 1
2 References..................................................................................................................... 1
3 Definitions .................................................................................................................... 1
3.1 Terms defined elsewhere ................................................................................ 1
3.2 Terms defined in this Recommendation ......................................................... 2
4 Abbreviations and acronyms ........................................................................................ 10
5 Conventions .................................................................................................................. 16
5.1 Optical access concepts .................................................................................. 16
5.2 Multi-wavelength PON system reference points ............................................ 17
5.3 Optical power and loss parameters ................................................................. 18
5.4 Dynamic range, sensitivity and overload ....................................................... 18
5.5 Sensitivity and overload in the presence of FEC............................................ 19
5.6 Reach and distance ......................................................................................... 19
5.7 Use of the term PON ...................................................................................... 20
5.8 Use of the term ODN ...................................................................................... 20
5.9 Use of the terms ONU and ONT .................................................................... 21
5.10 Use of the terms T-CONT and Alloc-ID ........................................................ 21
5.11 Use of the terms bandwidth assignment and bandwidth allocation ............... 22
5.12 Use of the terms band and range .................................................................... 22
5.13 Transmitter enable control and associated transient times ............................. 22
Bibliography............................................................................................................................. 24

Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015) iii

Recommendation ITU-T G.989

40-Gigabit-capable passive optical networks (NG-PON2):

Definitions, abbreviations and acronyms

1 Scope
This Recommendation contains the common definitions, acronyms, abbreviations and conventions
of the ITU-T G.989-series of Recommendations.

2 References
The following ITU-T Recommendations and other references contain provisions which, through
reference in this text, constitute provisions of this Recommendation. At the time of publication, the
editions indicated were valid. All Recommendations and other references are subject to revision;
users of this Recommendation are therefore encouraged to investigate the possibility of applying the
most recent edition of the Recommendations and other references listed below. A list of the
currently valid ITU-T Recommendations is regularly published. The reference to a document within
this Recommendation does not give it, as a stand-alone document, the status of a Recommendation.
[ITU-T J.185] Recommendation ITU-T J.185 (2012), Transmission equipment for
transferring multi-channel television signals over optical access networks by
frequency modulation conversion.
[ITU-T J.186] Recommendation ITU-T J.186 (2008), Transmission equipment for
multi-channel television signals over optical access networks by sub-carrier
multiplexing (SCM).

3 Definitions

3.1 Terms defined elsewhere

This Recommendation uses the following terms defined elsewhere:
3.1.1 access network (AN) [b-ITU-T G.902]: An implementation comprising those entities
(such as cable plant, transmission facilities, etc.) which provide the required transport bearer
capabilities for the provision of telecommunications services between a service node interface (SNI)
and each of the associated user-network interfaces (UNIs).
3.1.2 Ethernet LAN service (E-LAN) [b-MEF 6.1]: An Ethernet service type that is based on a
Multipoint-to-Multipoint Ethernet virtual connection.
3.1.3 Ethernet line service (E-Line) [b-MEF 6.1]: An Ethernet service type that is based on a
Point-to-Point Ethernet virtual connection.
3.1.4 Ethernet tree service (E-Tree) [b-MEF 6.1]: An Ethernet service type that is based on a
Rooted-Multipoint Ethernet virtual connection.
3.1.5 Ethernet virtual connection (EVC) [b-MEF 6.1]: An association of UNIs to which the
exchange of service frames is limited.
3.1.6 jitter (timing jitter) [b-ITU-T G.810]: The short-term variations of the significant
instances of a digital signal from their ideal positions in time (where "short-term" implies that these
variations are of a frequency greater than or equal to 10 Hz).

Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015) 1

3.1.7 service node (SN) [b-ITU-T G.902]: A network element that provides access to various
switched and/or permanent telecommunication services.
3.1.8 service node interface (SNI) [b-ITU-T G.902]: An interface which provides customer
access to a service node.
3.1.9 user-network interface (UNI) [b-ITU-T I.112]: The interface between the terminal
equipment and a network termination at which interface the access protocols apply.
3.1.10 1:1 VLAN [b-BBF TR-101]: A VLAN forwarding paradigm involving a one-to-one
mapping between user port and VLAN. The uniqueness of the mapping is maintained in the Access
Node and across the Aggregation Network.
3.1.11 N:1 VLAN [b-BBF TR-101]: A VLAN forwarding paradigm involving many-to-one
mapping between user ports and VLAN. The user ports may be located in the same or different
Access Nodes.

3.2 Terms defined in this Recommendation

This Recommendation defines the following terms:
3.2.1 Optical access architecture terms
3.2.1.1 channel group: A set of channel pairs carried over a common fibre.
3.2.1.2 channel pair: A set of one downstream wavelength channel and one upstream wavelength
channel that provides connectivity between an OLT and one or more ONUs.
3.2.1.3 channel partition: Any of the operator-specified non-overlapping subsets of TWDM or
PtP WDM channels in an NG-PON2 system.
3.2.1.4 channel partition index: An identity of an operator-specified TWDM or PtP WDM
channel subset in an NG-PON2 system.
3.2.1.5 channel termination (CT): See OLT PtP WDM channel termination, OLT TWDM
channel termination.
3.2.1.6 coexistence element: A bidirectional functional element used to connect PON systems
defined in different Recommendation series to the same ODN.
3.2.1.7 domain: A collection of all NG-PON2 network elements under a common and unique
operational administration.
3.2.1.8 gigabit-capable passive optical network (G-PON): A PON system supporting
transmission rates in excess of 1.0 Gbit/s in at least one direction, and which implements the suite
of protocols specified in the ITU-T G.984-series of Recommendations.
3.2.1.9 next generation PON (NG-PON): In the context of ITU-T standards development activity,
a generic term referencing the PON system evolution beyond G-PON. The concept of NG-PON
currently includes NG-PON1, where the ODN is maintained from B-PON and G-PON, and
NG-PON2, where a redefinition of the ODN is allowed from that defined in B-PON and G-PON.
3.2.1.10 NG-PON1: A PON system with a nominal aggregate capacity of 10 Gbit/s in the
downstream direction. The NG-PON1 system is represented by XG-PON.
3.2.1.11 NG-PON2: A PON system with a nominal aggregate capacity of 40 Gbit/s in the
downstream direction and 10 Gbit/s in the upstream direction, and implementing the suite of
protocols specified in the ITU-T G.989-series of Recommendations. An NG-PON2 system is
composed of a set of TWDM channels and/or a set of PtP WDM channels.

2 Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015)

3.2.1.12 OLT PtP WDM channel termination: A logical function that resides at the OLT
network element and terminates a single PtP WDM channel in a PtP WDM system.
3.2.1.13 OLT TWDM channel termination: A logical function that resides at the OLT
network element and that terminates a single TWDM channel in a TWDM system.
3.2.1.14 optical access network (OAN): A part of an access network whose network elements
are interconnected by optical communication channels. Note that an OAN may or may not extend
all the way to the UNI, so that the user-side interface of the OAN does not necessarily coincide with
the UNIs of the AN.
3.2.1.15 optical distribution network (ODN): A point-to-multipoint optical fibre
infrastructure. A simple ODN is entirely passive and is represented by a single-rooted point-to-
multipoint tree of optical fibres with splitters, combiners, filters and possibly other passive optical
components. A composite ODN consists of two or more passive segments interconnected by active
devices, each of the segments being either an optical trunk line segment or an optical distribution
segment. A passive optical distribution segment is a simple ODN itself. Two ODNs with distinct
roots can share a common subtree.
3.2.1.16 optical distribution segment (ODS): A simple ODN, that is, a point-to-multipoint
optical fibre infrastructure that is entirely passive and is represented by a single-rooted tree of
optical fibres with splitters, combiners, filters and possibly other passive optical components.
3.2.1.17 optical line termination (OLT): A network element in an ODN-based optical access
network that terminates the root of at least one ODN and provides an OAN SNI.
3.2.1.18 optical network terminal (ONT): An ONU supporting a single subscriber.
3.2.1.19 optical network unit (ONU): A network element in an ODN-based optical access
network that terminates a leaf of the ODN and provides an OAN UNI.
3.2.1.20 optical trunk line (OTL): A passive point-to-point segment of a composite ODN.
3.2.1.21 parenting: A passive optical network protection configuration where ONUs are
connected to two CTs hosted in different OLT chassis. Typically, the OLT chassis in dual parenting
are geographically remote from each other.
3.2.1.22 passive optical network (PON) system: A combination of network elements in an
ODN-based optical access network that includes an OLT and one or more ONUs and implements a
particular coordinated suite of physical medium dependent layer, transmission convergence layer
and management protocols.
3.2.1.23 PtP WDM channel: In an NG-PON2 system, PtP WDM channel refers to the pair of
one downstream wavelength channel and one upstream wavelength channel providing point-to-
point connectivity.
3.2.1.24 PtP WDM PON: A multiple wavelength PON system that enables point-to-point
connectivity using a dedicated wavelength channel per ONU for the downstream direction and a
dedicated wavelength channel per ONU for the upstream direction.
3.2.1.25 RF video overlay: A method for video transmission in the downstream direction in a
wavelength band between 1550 nm and 1560 nm according to [ITU-T J.185] and [ITU-T J.186].
3.2.1.26 TWDM channel: In an NG-PON2 system, TWDM channel refers to the pair of one
downstream wavelength channel and one upstream wavelength channel providing point-to-
multipoint connectivity by using, respectively, time division multiplexing and multiple access
mechanisms.

Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015) 3

3.2.1.27 TWDM PON: A multiple wavelength PON system in which each wavelength channel
may be shared among multiple ONUs by employing time division multiplexing and multiple access
mechanisms.
3.2.1.28 wavelength channel: A unidirectional (downstream or upstream) optical
communications channel characterized by a single unique central frequency or a set of unique
central frequencies mapped to one WM tributary port.
3.2.1.29 wavelength multiplexer (WM): A bidirectional functional element used to multiplex /
demultiplex between NG-PON2 wavelength channel pairs and channel groups.
3.2.1.30 10-gigabit-capable passive optical network (XG-PON): A PON system supporting
nominal transmission rates on the order of 10 Gbit/s in at least one direction, and implementing the
suite of protocols specified in the ITU-T G.987-series of Recommendations. XG-PON is the
realization of NG-PON1.
3.2.1.31 XG-PON1: A variant of an XG-PON system that operates at a nominal line rate of
10 Gbit/s downstream and 2.5 Gbit/s upstream.
3.2.1.32 XG-PON2: A variant of an XG-PON system that operates at a nominal line rate of
10 Gbit/s downstream and upstream.
3.2.2 Optical parameters, optical power, losses and penalties1
3.2.2.1 attenuation: See optical path loss.
3.2.2.2 channel spacing: The absolute difference between the nominal central frequencies of two
adjacent wavelength channels in a given reference grid.
3.2.2.3 consecutive identical digit (CID) immunity: The longest continuous sequence of identical
bits, that can be present in a digital signal without causing degradation so that the system
specifications are no longer met.
3.2.2.4 differential fibre distance: The absolute difference between the fibre distances of any two
given paths between the R/S and S/R-CG reference points in the same ODN.
3.2.2.5 differential optical path loss: The absolute difference between the optical losses,
expressed in decibel units, of any two given paths between the R/S and S/R-CG reference points in
the same ODN.
3.2.2.6 dispersion: A physical phenomenon comprising the dependence of the phase or group
velocity of a light wave in the medium, on its propagation characteristics such as optical frequency
(wavelength) or polarization mode.
3.2.2.7 dynamic range: An optical receiver characteristic that is equal to the ratio of the receiver
overload to the receiver sensitivity.
3.2.2.8 extinction ratio (ER): With respect to a digital On-Off keying signal generated by an
optical transmitter, the ratio of the average optical power level at the centre of the binary digit
corresponding to the high intensity of light to the average optical power level at the centre of a
binary digit corresponding to the low intensity of light.

1 For the definition of the NG-PON2 architectural reference points mentioned within this clause, please see
clause 5.2. For the relationship between optical power and loss parameters, see clause 5.3. For the
definition of the burst-mode transmitter enabled/disabled periods and the associated transient times, see
clause 5.13.

4 Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015)

For the burst-mode signal, averaging is performed over the time periods when the transmitter is
enabled, but excluding the associated transient times (see clause 5.13). For the continuous mode
signal, averaging is performed over the entire signal string.
3.2.2.9 fibre distance: The overall length of fibre (and, if applicable, equivalent fibre runs
representing delay-inducing components) between the R/S and S/R-CG reference points.
3.2.2.10 in-band crosstalk tolerance: The minimum value of signal-to-crosstalk ratio at the
S/R-CG (upstream direction) or R/S (downstream direction) reference point that maintains the
receiver compliance with the sensitivity requirements. The crosstalk is assumed to be polarized and
aligned with the signal polarization.
3.2.2.11 line code: In the NG-PON2 context, a code which transforms a binary digital signal
into an amplitude- and time-discrete waveform for transmission over a physical channel.
3.2.2.12 mask of transmitter eye diagram: A general method of transmitter pulse shape
characterization that allows the combined specification of rise time, fall time, pulse
overshoot/undershoot, ringing and jitter to ensure satisfactory operation with a compliant receiver.
Transmitter mask compliance is required at the appropriate reference point (S/R-CG for
downstream, R/S for upstream).
3.2.2.13 mean launch optical power An optical transmitter characteristic expressing the
average optical power of an optical signal transmitted into the fibre and carrying a given digital
sequence, referring to the optical power of an individual wavelength channel at the
appropriate reference point (S/R-CG for downstream direction, R/S for upstream direction). When
specified as a range, the minimum mean launch optical power provides the power level that the
transmitter should guarantee at all times, and the maximum mean launch optical power provides the
power level that the transmitter should never exceed. When applied to burst-mode transmission, the
term pertains to the time interval during which the transmitter is enabled, and excludes possible
starting and ending transient behaviour.
3.2.2.14 nominal central frequency: The specified frequency of a wavelength channel.
3.2.2.15 nominal line rate: The total number of bits that can be physically transferred per unit
of time over a communication link. Nominal line rate accounts for useful data as well as for all
possible protocol overheads and necessarily exceeds the effective data rate on any given protocol
level.
3.2.2.16 ODN fibre distance class: A categorization of an ODN based on the predefined values
of minimum and maximum fibre distance between the S/R-CG and any of R/S reference points.
3.2.2.17 ODN optical path loss class (ODN Class): A categorization of an ODN based on the
predefined values of minimum and maximum optical path loss over all possible paths between the
S/R-CG and any of the R/S reference points and over all possible operating wavelengths of a
specific PON system.
3.2.2.18 operating wavelength band: The spectral interval defined by its boundaries min and
max which includes all possible central operating wavelengths for a particular application.
3.2.2.19 optical path loss: The reduction in the optical power of light having traversed the ODN
expressed as a ratio in decibel units. This loss may be caused by the fibre, connectors, splices,
splitters, wavelength couplers, attenuators and other passive optical components.
3.2.2.20 optical path penalty (OPP): The apparent degradation of receiver sensitivity due to
impairments from fibre transmission and an apparent increase in ODN loss due to Raman depletion.
The optical path penalty accounts for the effects of reflections, intersymbol interference, mode
partition noise, fibre dispersion, and fibre non-linearities.

Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015) 5

3.2.2.21 optical power spectral density when not enabled (WNE-PSD): The optical power
spectral density per transmitter, at any wavelength inside or outside the operating wavelength band,
measured when the transmitter is not enabled and the allocated transient time has elapsed, at the
appropriate reference point (S/R-CG for downstream direction, R/S for upstream direction).
Measurements are averaged over time and are expressed as the total integrated power within a
sliding spectral window of known width.
3.2.2.22 optical return loss (ORL): The total reflection at the source reference point of the
optical signal propagation path, measured as a ratio of the transmitted optical power to the reflected
optical power.
3.2.2.23 overload: A receiver parameter equal to the maximum average received optical power
that produces the specified BER reference level, referring to the optical power of an individual
wavelength channel at the appropriate reference point (S/R-CG for upstream direction, R/S for
downstream direction) measured with the worst case signal, but without the optical path
impairments.
3.2.2.24 per channel out-of-band optical power spectral density (OOB-PSD): The optical
PSD outside the operating wavelength band measured at the appropriate reference point (S/R-CG
for downstream direction, R/S for upstream direction). Measurements are averaged over the time
periods when the transmitter is enabled, or when the transmitter is not enabled but the allocated
transient time has not yet elapsed, and these are expressed as the total integrated power within a
sliding spectral window of known width.
3.2.2.25 per channel out-of-channel optical power spectral density (OOC-PSD): For a
transmitter in a stationary wavelength channel state, the optical PSD outside the spectral interval
corresponding to the operating wavelength channel, measured at the appropriate reference point
(S/R-CG for downstream direction, R/S for upstream direction). Measurements are averaged over
the time periods when the transmitter is enabled, or when the transmitter is not enabled but the
allocated transient time has not yet elapsed, and these are expressed as the total integrated power
within a sliding spectral window of known width.
3.2.2.26 reflectance: The reflection from any single discrete reflection point in the optical
signal propagation path, which is defined to be the ratio of the reflected optical power present at a
point, to the optical power incident to that point.
3.2.2.27 sensitivity: A receiver parameter equal to the minimum average received optical power
that produces the specified BER reference level, referring to the optical power of an individual
wavelength channel at the appropriate reference point (S/R-CG for upstream direction, R/S for
downstream direction) measured with the worst case signal, but without the optical path
impairments.
3.2.2.28 side mode suppression ratio (SMSR): The ratio of the power of the largest peak of the
transmitter spectrum to that of the second largest peak. The second largest peak may be next to the
main peak, or far removed from it. Within this definition, spectral peaks that are separated from the
largest peak by the clock frequency are not considered to be side modes.
3.2.2.29 spectral excursion: For a transmitter in a stationary wavelength channel state, the
absolute difference between the nominal central frequency of the channel and the –15 dB points of
the transmitter spectrum furthest from the nominal central frequency measured at the transmitter
output at the appropriate reference point (S/R-CG for downstream direction, R/S for upstream
direction).
3.2.2.30 spectral width: The full width of the largest spectral peak, measured 15 dB down from
the maximum amplitude of the peak.

6 Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015)

3.2.2.31 stationary wavelength channel state: An optical transmitter or receiver is said to be in
a stationary wavelength channel state, if 1) it is fixed wavelength, or 2) it is wavelength-tunable
and its transient processes associated with the execution of a wavelength channel tuning control
command have completed.
3.2.2.32 tolerance to reflected optical power: A transmitter parameter that characterizes the
maximum admissible ratio of the average reflected optical transmit power incident at the transmitter
to the average optical transmit power.
3.2.2.33 transmitter calibration: An optical transmitter is calibrated with accuracy , if given
a target transmission frequency f0 within its tuning range, it is capable of transmitting with the
spectral excursion not exceeding  (in other words, its transmission spectrum between the −15 dB
cutoff points lays entirely within the spectral interval (f0 – , f0 + )).
3.2.2.34 transmitter power wavelength dependency: For a tunable transmitter under
wavelength control, the variation of the mean launch optical power when tuning within MSE.
3.2.2.35 transmitter disable transient time: For a burst-mode transmitter, the allocated
transient time on de-assertion of the TxEnable signal, measured in bit periods with respect to the
transmitter nominal line rate.
3.2.2.36 transmitter enable transient time: For a burst-mode transmitter, the allocated
transient time on assertion of the TxEnable signal, measured in bit periods with respect to the
transmitter nominal line rate.
3.2.2.37 tuning granularity: The smallest step by which a tunable device is able to adjust the
operating frequency/wavelength within the tuning range of the device. This Recommendation
specifies the tuning granularity by its maximum allowable value.
3.2.2.38 tuning range: The spectral interval either in frequency (fmin, fmax) or wavelength (min,
max) over which the operating frequency/wavelength of a tunable device can be adjusted by means
of tuning control.
3.2.2.39 tuning time: The elapsed time from the moment the tunable device leaves the source
wavelength channel to the moment the tunable device reaches the target wavelength channel.
3.2.2.40 tuning window: The difference between the highest and lowest operating frequen-
cies/wavelengths of a tunable device, attainable by means of tuning control.
3.2.2.41 wavelength channel spacing: See channel spacing.
3.2.3 Transmission convergence layer terms
3.2.3.1 activation: A set of distributed procedures executed by the OLT and the ONUs that allows
an inactive ONU to join or resume operations on the PON. The activation process includes three
phases: parameter learning, serial number acquisition, and ranging.
3.2.3.2 activation cycle: An interval of continuous ONU operation between two consecutive re-
entries of the ONU state machine into the initial state.
3.2.3.3 attenuation level: A controlled attenuation applied to the output of an ONU transmitter to
shift its mean launch optical power range down.
3.2.3.4 bandwidth allocation: An upstream transmission opportunity granted by the OLT for a
specified time interval to a specified traffic-bearing entity within an ONU.
3.2.3.5 calibration record: A data structure which establishes an association between the
wavelength channels and the corresponding values of the tuning control parameters.

Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015) 7

3.2.3.6 calibration record status: A linear array which contains a calibration record accuracy
indication for every available wavelength channel.
3.2.3.7 dynamic bandwidth assignment (DBA): A process by which the OLT distributes
upstream PON capacity between the traffic-bearing entities within ONUs, based on dynamic
indication of their traffic activity and their configured traffic contracts.
3.2.3.8 effective key length: The number of randomly generated bits of a cryptographic key. The
effective key length may be less than the nominal key length of a particular cryptosystem, if a part
of the key is replaced by a well-known bit pattern.
3.2.3.9 embedded OAM: An operation and management channel between the OLT and the ONUs
that utilizes the structured overhead fields of the downstream XGTC frame and upstream XGTC
burst and supports time-sensitive functions.
3.2.3.10 equalization delay (EqD): The requisite delay assigned by the OLT to an individual
ONU in order to ensure that the ONU's transmissions are precisely aligned on a common OLT-
based upstream frame reference. The ONU's equalization delay is assigned as a result of ranging
and is subject to in-service updates in the course of burst arrival phase monitoring.
3.2.3.11 loose calibration: An accuracy characterization of an ONU's calibration record with
respect to a given upstream wavelength channel which allows the ONU to avoid interference with
the any other upstream wavelength channels.
3.2.3.12 loose calibration bound: An upper limit for the permitted transmitter spectral
excursion of ONUs, connected to an NG-PON2 system, to be considered as loosely calibrated. This
is determined by the physical properties of any particular implementation of an NG-PON2 system.
3.2.3.13 one-step tuning time: The time it takes an ONU to tune its transmitter over the spectral
distance equal to its tuning granularity value.
3.2.3.14 ONU management and control interface (OMCI): An operation and management
channel between the OLT and an ONU that is message-based and employs an extendable
management information base.
3.2.3.15 physical layer OAM (PLOAM): An operation and management channel between the
OLT and the ONUs that is close to real time and is based on a fixed set of messages.
3.2.3.16 power levelling: A mechanism that allows an ONU to change its mean launch optical
power.
3.2.3.17 profile: A collection of parameters describing a particular object. Within the context of
the NG-PON2 TC layer, profile can pertain to a NG-PON2 system as a whole, a TWDM or PtP
channel, or an upstream burst in TWDM PON system.
3.2.3.18 quiet window: A time interval during which the OLT suppresses all bandwidth
allocations to in-service ONUs in order to avoid collisions between their upstream transmissions
and the transmissions from ONUs whose burst arrival time is uncertain. The OLT opens a quiet
window to allow new ONUs to join the PON and to perform ranging of specific ONUs.
3.2.3.19 ranging: A procedure of measuring the round-trip delay between the OLT and any of
its subtending ONUs with the objective to determine and assign the appropriate equalization delay,
which is necessary to align the ONU’s upstream transmissions on a common OLT CT based
upstream frame reference. Ranging is performed during ONU activation and may be performed
while the ONU is in service.

8 Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015)

3.2.3.20 ranging grant: An allocation structure that is addressed to the default Alloc-ID of the
ONU and has the PLOAMu flag set. A ranging grant does not specify a data allocation and has the
GrantSize of zero.
3.2.3.21 requisite delay: A general term denoting the total extra delay the OLT may require an
ONU to apply to the upstream transmission beyond the ONU’s regular response time. The purpose
of requisite delay is to compensate for variation of propagation and processing delays of individual
ONUs, and to avoid or reduce the probability of collisions between upstream transmissions.
3.2.3.22 root frequency: The nominal central frequency representing a cyclic set of frequencies
that forms an upstream wavelength channel.
3.2.3.23 round-trip delay: A sum of round-trip propagation delay, ONU response time, and any
ONU requisite delay.
3.2.3.24 round-trip propagation delay: The total amount of time it takes an optical signal to
travel from the OLT transmitter to the ONU receiver and from the ONU transmitter to the OLT
receiver.
3.2.3.25 round-trip time: The time interval, as observed by the OLT CT, between the start of a
downstream PHY frame carrying a certain bandwidth map and the start of an upstream PHY burst
specified by that bandwidth map.
3.2.3.26 serial number grant: A type of allocation structure, addressed to a broadcast Alloc-ID
and having the PLOAMu flag set, that invites the ONUs in Serial Number state to transmit a
Serial_Number_ONU PLOAM message either in band or via AMCC. A serial number grant does
not specify a data allocation.
3.2.3.27 service adapter: A functional entity responsible for encapsulating/de-encapsulating of
the SDUs belonging to the specific service type to/from the XGEM frames.
3.2.3.28 status reporting DBA (SR-DBA): A method of dynamic bandwidth assignment that
infers the dynamic activity status of the traffic-bearing entities within ONUs based on explicit
buffer occupancy reports communicated over the embedded OAM channel.
3.2.3.29 sufficient calibration: An accuracy characterization of an ONU's calibration record
with respect to a given upstream wavelength channel which allows the ONU to guarantee
transmission within the specified maximum spectral excursion (MSE) interval of that channel.
3.2.3.30 time quantum: A line-rate-invariant unit of time which is equal to 32 bit periods at the
line rate of 2.48832 Gbit/s.
3.2.3.31 traffic-monitoring DBA (TM-DBA): A method of dynamic bandwidth assignment
that infers the dynamic activity status of the traffic-bearing entities within ONUs based on
observation of idle XGEM frame transmissions during upstream bursts.
3.2.3.32 transmission container (T-CONT): A traffic-bearing object within an ONU that
represents a group of logical connections, is managed via the ONU management and control
channel (OMCC), and, through its TC layer Alloc-ID, is treated as a single entity for the purpose of
upstream bandwidth assignment on the PON.
3.2.3.33 tunability: In the NG-PON2 context, a property of an ONU to change its wavelength.
3.2.3.34 TWDM PON transmission convergence (TWDM TC) layer: A protocol layer of the
TWDM PON protocol suite that is positioned between the physical medium dependent (PMD) layer
and the TWDM PON clients. The TWDM TC layer is composed of the TWDM TC service
adaptation sublayer, the TWDM TC framing sublayer, and the TWDM TC PHY adaptation
sublayer.

Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015) 9

3.2.3.35 TWDM TC framing sublayer: A sublayer of the TWDM PON transmission
convergence layer that supports the functions of frame/burst encapsulation and delineation,
embedded OAM processing, and Alloc-ID filtering.
3.2.3.36 TWDM TC PHY adaptation sublayer: A sublayer of the TWDM PON transmission
convergence layer that supports the functions of physical synchronization and delineation, forward
error correction (FEC), and scrambling.
3.2.3.37 TWDM TC service adaptation sublayer: A sublayer of the TWDM PON
transmission convergence layer that supports the functions of SDU (user data and OMCI traffic)
fragmentation and reassembly, XGEM encapsulation, XGEM frame delineation, and XGEM
Port-ID filtering.
3.2.3.38 uncalibrated ONU: An ONU is said to be uncalibrated with respect to a given
upstream wavelength channel if its calibration record accuracy does not satisfy the criterion for
loose calibration.
3.2.3.39 XGEM port: An abstraction in the TWDM TC service adaptation sublayer
representing a logical connection associated with a specific client packet flow.
3.2.3.40 10-gigabit-capable PON encapsulation method (XGEM): A data frame transport
scheme used in XG-PON and XG-PON-based systems that is connection-oriented and that supports
fragmentation of user data frames into variable sized transmission fragments.

4 Abbreviations and acronyms

This Recommendation uses the following abbreviations and acronyms:
ACK Acknowledgment
AES Advanced Encryption Standard
Alloc-ID Allocation Identifier
ALRF Attenuation Level Request Failure
AMCC Auxiliary Management and Control Channel
AN Access Network
ANI Access Node Interface
AO Allocation Overhead
APC Angled Physical Contact
ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange
AVC Attribute Value Change
AWG Arrayed Waveguide Grating
BBU Baseband Unit
BCH Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem (code)
BE Best Effort (service category)
BER Bit Error Ratio
BIP Bit-Interleaved Parity
BITS Building Integrated Timing Source

10 Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015)

BN Branching Node
B-PON Broadband Passive Optical Network (ITU-T G.983-series)
BufOcc Buffer Occupancy
BWmap Bandwidth Map
CAWG Cyclic Arrayed Waveguide Grating
CD Chromatic Dispersion
CE Coexistence Element
CEx Coexistence Element Type x (x = 1, 2, etc.)
CG Channel Group
CID Consecutive Identical Digits
Clob Count of the loss of burst events
CMAC Cipher-based Message Authentication Code
CP Channel Pair
CPE Customer Premises Equipment
CPI Channel Partition Index
CPRI Common Public Radio Interface
CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check
CS Channel Spacing
CT Channel Termination
CTP Connection Termination Point
CTR Counter (block cipher mode)
DA Destination Address
DBA Dynamic Bandwidth Assignment
DBRu Dynamic Bandwidth Report, upstream
DF Disable Failure
DG Dying Gasp
DOTX Drift of Transmitter Wavelength
DOW Drift Of Window
DS DownStream (transmission direction)
DWLCH Downstream WaveLength CHannel
ECB Electronic Code Book (block cipher mode)
EDC Electronic Dispersion Compensation
EDFA Erbium-Doped Fibre Amplifier
EMS Element Management System
EWMA Exponentially Weighted Moving Average

Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015) 11

eNode B evolved Node B
EqD Equalization Delay
ER Extinction Ratio
EVC Ethernet Virtual Connection
FCS Frame Check Sequence
FEC Forward Error Correction
FFS For Further Study
FS Framing Sublayer
FSR Free Spectral Range
FTTx Fibre To The x (B – building, business; H – home; C – cabinet, curb)
FWI Forced Wake-up Indication
G-PON Gigabit-capable Passive Optical Network (ITU-T G.984-series)
HEC Hybrid Error Correction
HLend Header Length, downstream
ICTP Inter-Channel-Termination Protocol
ID Identifier
IFC Intra-Frame Counter
IK Integrity Key
ILODS Intermittent Loss Of Downstream Synchronization (ONU state)
Ind Indication (format field)
KEK Key Encryption Key
LCB Loose Calibration Bound
LF Last Fragment (format flag)
LOB Loss Of Burst
LODS Loss Of Downstream Synchronization
LOF Loss Of Frame
LOMC Loss Of Management Channel
LOOC Loss Of OMCI Channel
LOPC Loss Of PLOAM Channel
LOS Loss Of Signal
LSB Least Significant Bit
LSI Local Sleep Indication
LTE Long Term Evolution
LWI Local Wake-up Indication
MAC Media Access Control

12 Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015)

MDU Management Data Unit
MDU/SFU Multi-Dwelling Unit/Single-Family Unit
MEF Metro Ethernet Forum
MIB Management Information Base
MIC Message Integrity Check
MPLS Multi-Protocol Label Switching
MSB Most Significant Bit
MSE Maximum Spectral Excursion
MSK Master Session Key
MTE Maximum Tuning Error
NA Non-Assured (service category)
NACK Negative Acknowledgment
NG-PON1 Next Generation Passive Optical Network 1 (ITU-T G.987-series)
NG-PON2 Next Generation Passive Optical Network 2 (ITU-T G.989-series)
NRZ Non-Return to Zero
OAM Operation, Administration and Maintenance
OAN Optical Access Network
OC Operation Control
OCS Operation Control Structure
ODF Optical Distribution Frame
ODN Optical Distribution Network
ODN-ID Optical Distribution Network Identifier
ODS Optical Distribution Segment
OLT Optical Line Terminal
OMCC ONU Management and Control Channel
OMCI ONU Management and Control Interface
OMCI_IK OMCI Integrity Key
ONU Optical Network Unit
ONU-ID Optical Network Unit Identifier
OOB Out-Of-Band
OOB-PSD Out-Of-Band Power Spectral Density
OOC Out-Of-Channel
OOC-PSD Out-Of-Channel Power Spectral Density
OPL Optical Path Loss
OPP Optical Path Penalty

Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015) 13

ORL Optical Return Loss
OSNR Optical Signal-to-Noise Ratio
OSS Operations Support System
OTDR Optical Time Domain Reflectometer
OTL Optical Trunk Line
PDU Protocol Data Unit
PHY Physical interface
PIT PON-ID Type
PL Power Levelling
PLI Payload Length Indication
PLOAM Physical Layer Operation, Administration and Maintenance
PLOAMd PLOAM downstream
PLOAMu PLOAM upstream
PLOAM_IK PLOAM Integrity Key
PM Performance Monitoring
PMD Physical Medium Dependent
PON Passive Optical Network
PSBd Physical Synchronization Block downstream
PSBu Physical Synchronization Block upstream
PSD Power Spectral Density
PSK Pre-shared Secret Key
PSync Physical Synchronization sequence
PtP Point-to-Point
PtP WDM Point-to-Point Wavelength Division Multiplexing
QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
QoS Quality of Service
RE  Reach Extender
RF Radio Frequency
RNG Ranging
RRT Round-trip Response Time
RRU Remote Radio Unit
RS Reed-Solomon (code)
RSSI Received Signal Strength Indication
R/S Receive/Send reference point at the interface of the ONU to the ODN
R'/S' Reach extender interface to optical trunk line

14 Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015)

RTD Round Trip Delay
RTT Round Trip Time
Rx Receiver
SA Sleep Allow (PLOAM message type)
SA Source Address
SDU Service Data Unit
SeqNo Sequence Number
SFC Superframe Counter
SFD Start Frame Delimiter
SK Session Key
SLM Single Longitudinal Mode (laser type)
SMA Secure Mutual Association
SMF Single Mode Fibre
SMSR Side Mode Suppression Ratio
SN Serial Number
SN Service Node
SNI Service Node Interface
SOA Semiconductor Optical Amplifier
S/R Send/Receive reference point at the OLT side
S/R-CP S/R for Channel Pair
S/R-CG S/R for Channel Group
S'/R' Reach extender interface to optical distribution network
SR Status Reporting (DBA method)
SR Sleep Request (PLOAM message type)
SUF Start-Up Failure
TBD To Be Defined
T-CONT Transmission Container
TC Transmission Convergence
TDM Time Division Multiplexing
TDMA Time Division Multiple Access
TIW Transmission Interference Warning
TM Traffic Monitoring (DBA method)
ToD Time of Day
TOL Transmit Optical Level
TOx Timeout (x = Z, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015) 15

TuCtrl Tuning Control (PLOAM message type)
TuResp Tuning Response (PLOAM message type)
Tx Transmitter
TWDM Time and Wavelength Division Multiplexing
UI Unit Interval
UNI User-Network Interface
UPC Ultra Physical Contact
US Upstream (transmission direction)
UWLCH Upstream Wavelength Channel
VOA Variable Optical Attenuator
VSSN Vendor-Specific Serial Number
WBF Wavelength Blocking Filter
WDM Wavelength Division Multiplexing
WLCP Wavelength Channel Protection
WM Wavelength Multiplexer
WNE-PSD When Not Enabled Power Spectral Density
WR Wavelength-Routed (PtP WDM PON architecture class)
WS Wavelength-Selected (PtP WDM PON architecture class)
XG-PON 10-Gigabit Passive Optical Network (ITU-T G.987-series)
XGEM 10-Gigabit-capable PON Encapsulation Method
XML Extensible Markup Language
XOR Exclusive OR
X/S Crosstalk-to-Signal ratio

5 Conventions

5.1 Optical access concepts

This Recommendation reuses the optical access network terminology and definitions system
adopted by [b-ITU-T G.987]. An example of an access network architecture satisfying the
definition system is shown in Figure 5-1.

16 Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015)

 Figure 5-1 – Reference access network architecture

5.2 Multi-wavelength PON system reference points

In a multiple wavelength passive optical network (PON) system, such as next generation passive
optical network 2 (NG-PON2), the optical line terminal (OLT) is conceptually composed of
multiple OLT channel terminations (CTs) connected via a wavelength multiplexer (WM). The
associated reference logical architecture and its reference points are presented in Figure 5-2.

Figure 5-2 – NG-PON2 reference logical architecture

Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015) 17

5.3 Optical power and loss parameters
The relationships between optical power and loss parameters are captured in Figure 5-3.

Figure 5-3 – Relationship between the optical power and loss parameters

Given an optical distribution network (ODN) characterized by the maximum and minimum optical
path loss and the maximum optical path penalty, the optical links are balanced if and only if the
following two constraints are met (assuming logarithmic representation of the parameters):
1. The difference between the minimum transmitter mean channel launch power and the
receiver sensitivity is greater than or equal to the sum of the maximum optical path loss and
the maximum optical path penalty.
2. The difference between maximum transmitter mean channel launch power and the receiver
overload does not exceed the minimum optical path loss.

5.4 Dynamic range, sensitivity and overload

The concept of the dynamic range definition is illustrated in Figure 5-4. The receiver sensitivity and
overload are generally understood respectively, as the minimum and maximum average received
optical power at which the bit error ratio (BER) at the receiver output remains at the specified
reference level. The observed values of receiver sensitivity and overload may vary as the operating
temperature and signal quality change, and the system ages. The signal quality characteristics that
affect receiver sensitivity and overload may include: the transmitter extinction ratio, parameters of
the eye diagram, in-band crosstalk. In the present Recommendation series, receiver sensitivity and
receiver overload are formally specified by their respective worst-case values, i.e., maximum
sensitivity and minimum overload over the range of operating temperature and signal quality
parameters, and under the end-of-life conditions.

18 Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015)

 Figure 5-4 – Rx output BER as a function of received optical power
and the definition of dynamic range

5.5 Sensitivity and overload in the presence of FEC

To simplify time and wavelength division multiplexing (TWDM) PON optical component
verification, this Recommendation, as [b-ITU-T G.987.2] prior to it, specifies the sensitivity and
overload at the reference BER level, which corresponds to the Rx output and the forward error
correction (FEC) decoder input. It is assumed that the FEC algorithms specified, respectively, for
continuous mode downstream and burst-mode upstream transmission are sufficiently strong to
achieve the BER level of 10−12 or better at the FEC decoder output. See [b-ITU-T G-Sup.39] for
further discussion.

5.6 Reach and distance

Like the ITU-T G.987-series of Recommendations before it, the ITU-T G.989-series addresses the
linear extent parameters of NG-PON2 using the single concept of fibre distance. An optical network
unit (ONU) is characterized by its fibre distance, and for each pair of ONUs on the same OLT PON
interface, the differential fibre distance is the difference between the two individual fibre distances.
Each specific physical medium dependent (PMD) layer parameter set contains a provision to
support a specific maximum fibre distance. The NG-PON2 transmission convergence (TC) layer
specification contains a provision to support specific ranges of maximum fibre distance and
maximum differential fibre distance. These ranges can be configurable for a given system. It can be
expected that for each NG-PON2 deployment, the configured TC layer maximum fibre distance will
match the maximum fibre distance supported by the selected PMD layer parameter set. Fibre
distance concepts are illustrated in Figure 5-5.

Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015) 19

 Figure 5-5 – Fibre distance concepts

5.7 Use of the term PON

Historically, the term PON was introduced to describe a point-to-multipoint fibre infrastructure
composed exclusively of passive optical components. This strict-sense usage was soon naturally
extended to include a fibre-in-the-loop communication system employing such an infrastructure and
using time division multiplexing (TDM) to share the available digital bandwidth among many
subscribers (TDM-PON). As new types of PON-based systems were introduced, leveraging various
TDM transport mechanisms (B-PON, G-PON, EPON) or alternative multi-access methods
(WDM-PON), it became common to use the word PON with appropriate qualification in reference
to the specific architectural variations. While the term remained overloaded, referring in different
contexts to a network, a system, architecture or technology, all the referenced entities shared a
common attribute of containing, using or relying upon a fibre infrastructure with no active
(electronic) components between the central office interface and the user equipment interface. More
recently, the introduction of active reach extenders within the optical distribution network as
defined in [b-ITU-T G.984.6] created a paradoxical situation when an infrastructural component of
a G-PON system may not be entirely passive, that is, nominally, no longer a PON. Thus, it became
apparent that the excessive overloading of what was once meant to be a precise term may adversely
impact the clarity of a technical presentation.
This current series of Recommendations deliberately restricts the usage of the term PON to the
contexts where it denotes a system, that is, a combination of network elements including at least one
OLT and multiple ONUs interconnected by an ODN that implements a particular coordinated suite
of physical medium dependent layer, transmission convergence layer and management protocols. It
also strives to provide a consistent, unambiguous and extensible definition system that allows
supporting efficient communication on the subject.

5.8 Use of the term ODN

In the ITU-T G.983 B-PON and ITU-T G.984 G-PON series of Recommendations (prior to
[b-ITU-T G.984.6]), the term optical distribution network refers to a passive point-to-multipoint
distribution means extending from the user-facing interface of the OLT to the network-facing
interfaces of the ONUs. The introduction of active reach extenders and the concept of dual-homing

20 Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015)

call for a revision of the term's scope and usage, as the fibre-based distribution network extending
between the OLT and ONU interfaces may be neither point-to-multipoint nor strictly passive.
This current series of Recommendations follows the ITU-T G.987-series, endorsing a generalized
usage of the term ODN to denote a point-to-multipoint fibre infrastructure, which is not required to
be entirely passive. In the contexts where the internal structure of the ODN is not a concern, it is the
ODN that interconnects the OLT and the ONUs to form a PON system. In the contexts where the
internal structure of the ODN is relevant, two types of ODNs can be distinguished. A simple ODN
is entirely passive and is represented by a single-rooted point-to-multipoint tree of optical fibres
with splitters, combiners, filters, and possibly other passive optical components. A composite ODN
consists of two or more segments interconnected by active devices, each of the segments being
either an optical trunk line segment or an optical distribution segment. A passive optical distribution
segment in is a simple ODN itself. The definition allows two ODNs with distinct roots to share a
common subtree, thus supporting the notions of dual-homing and protection within the definition
system.

5.9 Use of the terms ONU and ONT

Throughout the ITU-T G.989-series of Recommendations, as in the earlier ITU-T G.987-series, the
network element interfacing the end-user access facilities and the ODN is referred to as an ONU, or
an optical network unit, irrespective of the number and type of user interfaces or the depth of fibre
deployment. Historically, the term ONT, or optical network terminal/termination, has been used
either interchangeably with ONU or with the particular semantics of "an ONU that is used for fibre
to the home (FTTH) and includes the user port function" (see [b-ITU-T G.983.1]), or "a
single-subscriber ONU" (see [b-ITU-T G.984.1] and other documents of the ITU-T G.984-series).
This Recommendation follows the latter approach in defining ONT. Note, however, that while this
definition captures one established trade interpretation of the term, the concept itself is not used as a
part of the ITU-T G.989 reference access architecture.
Outside of the scope of the ITU-T G.987-series and ITU-T G.989-series of Recommendations,
alternative interpretations may apply, and therefore the reader is advised to clarify the exact
meaning of the term in each specific context. In particular, in some external contexts, the term ONT
may be used generically to refer to any device terminating a leaf of the ODN.

5.10 Use of the terms T-CONT and Alloc-ID

A transmission container (T-CONT) is an ONU management and control interface (OMCI)
managed entity representing a group of logical connections that appear as a single entity for the
purpose of upstream bandwidth assignment in a PON system.
For a given ONU, the number of supported T-CONTs is fixed. The ONU autonomously creates all
the supported T-CONT instances during ONU activation or upon OMCI management information
base (MIB) reset. The OLT uses the ONU management and control channel (OMCC) to discover
the number of T-CONT instances supported by a given ONU and to manage those instances.
The allocation identifier (Alloc-ID) is a 14 bit number that the OLT assigns to an ONU to identify a
traffic-bearing entity that is a recipient of upstream bandwidth allocations within that ONU. Such a
traffic-bearing entity is usually represented by a T-CONT, but may also be represented by an
internal non-managed structure.
Each ONU is assigned at least its default Alloc-ID and may be explicitly assigned additional
Alloc-IDs per OLT's discretion.
To activate a T-CONT instance for carrying the upstream user traffic, the OLT has to map that
T-CONT instance to an Alloc-ID which was previously assigned to the given ONU via the physical

Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015) 21

layer operations, administration and maintenance (PLOAM) messaging channel. Mapping of
T-CONTs to Alloc-IDs is performed via the OMCC. The OMCC itself is mapped, in the upstream
direction, to the default Alloc-ID. This mapping is fixed; it cannot be managed via the OMCI MIB
and it should survive OMCI MIB reset.
Although in many cases there exists a one-to-one correspondence between T-CONTs and Alloc-
IDs, it is the Alloc-ID, not a T-CONT, which is visible at the TC layer of the system.

5.11 Use of the terms bandwidth assignment and bandwidth allocation

The term "bandwidth assignment" refers to the distribution of the upstream PON capacity between
the ONUs' traffic-bearing entities using certain isolation and fairness criteria. In static bandwidth
assignment, the said criteria are based exclusively on the provisioned parameters of the traffic
contracts, and the bandwidth is assigned on the timescale of the individual service provisioning. In
dynamic bandwidth assignment, the activity status of the traffic-bearing entities is taken into
consideration along with the parameters of the traffic contracts, and the bandwidth assignment is
periodically refined.
The term "bandwidth allocation", on the other hand, denotes the process of granting individual
transmission opportunities to the ONUs' traffic-bearing entities on the timescale of a single physical
interface (PHY) frame. The process of bandwidth allocation uses the assigned bandwidth values as
an input and produces the per-frame bandwidth maps as an output. It also accounts for PLOAM
messaging and DBRu overhead requirements and the short-term disturbances associated with the
creation of quiet windows for serial number acquisition and ranging purposes.

5.12 Use of the terms band and range

When used in the context of optical spectrum, both terms ''band'' and ''range'' generally denote a
spectral interval in terms of frequency (fmin, fmax) or wavelength (min, max). Within the NG-PON2
context, the term ''band'' applies specifically to a spectral interval which covers all wavelength
channels of a specific application (e.g., TWDM PON upstream band, narrow band option, shared
spectrum band, G-PON downstream band), whereas the term ''range'' usually applies to a spectral
interval corresponding to a single wavelength channel.
The operating bands are specified in wavelength terms as a matter of convenience for classification
and reference purposes. The actual minimum and maximum wavelengths for an operating band
should be calculated from the maximum and minimum wavelengths of the two outmost wavelength
channels.

5.13 Transmitter enable control and associated transient times

Conceptually, TxEnable is a binary signal that controls a burst-mode ONU transmitter. The
TxEnable signal must be asserted (active) for the ONU to transmit an assigned burst. The TxEnable
signal is expected to be de-asserted (inactive) whenever no burst is assigned to the ONU. The
Transmitter Enable transient time and Transmitter Disable transient time are the allocated time
intervals which serve to accommodate any transient physical processes that may be associated,
respectively, with assertion and de-assertion of the TxEnable signal. The maximum number of bits
allocated for Transmitter Enable transient time and Transmitter Disable transient time are
parameters of the ONU optical interface specification. Figure 5-6 shows the relationship between
the level of the TxEnable signal (without loss of generality, active-high logic is assumed) and the
associated transient times of the burst-mode transmitter. Within the scope of the ITU-T
G.989-series of Recommendations, the definitions of the optical-power-related PMD parameters
applicable to the burst-mode transmitters (mean launch optical power, extinction ratio, OOC-PSD,

22 Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015)

WNE-PSD) are referenced to the corresponding averaging intervals which are specified in terms of
a transmitter’s enabled/disabled periods and the associated transient times.

Figure 5-6 – The TxEnable signal and the associated transient times of a burst-mode
transmitter

Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015) 23

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[b-ITU-T G-Sup.39] ITU-T G-series Recommendations – Supplement 39 (2008), Optical system
design and engineering considerations.
[b-ITU-T I.112] ITU-T Recommendation I.112 (1993), Vocabulary of terms for ISDNs.
[b-BBF TR-101] Broadband Forum, Technical Report TR-101, Issue 2 (2011), Migration to
Ethernet-Based Broadband Aggregation.
[b-MEF 6.1] MEF Technical Specification MEF 6.1 (2008), Ethernet Services Definitions
– Phase 2.

24 Rec. ITU-T G.989 (10/2015)

 SERIES OF ITU-T RECOMMENDATIONS

Series A Organization of the work of ITU-T

Series D General tariff principles

Series E Overall network operation, telephone service, service operation and human factors
Series F Non-telephone telecommunication services

Series G Transmission systems and media, digital systems and networks

Series H Audiovisual and multimedia systems
Series I Integrated services digital network

Series J Cable networks and transmission of television, sound programme and other multimedia signals
Series K Protection against interference

Series L Environment and ICTs, climate change, e-waste, energy efficiency; construction, installation
and protection of cables and other elements of outside plant
Series M Telecommunication management, including TMN and network maintenance
Series N Maintenance: international sound programme and television transmission circuits

Series O Specifications of measuring equipment

Series P Terminals and subjective and objective assessment methods

Series Q Switching and signalling

Series R Telegraph transmission
Series S Telegraph services terminal equipment
Series T Terminals for telematic services
Series U Telegraph switching

Series V Data communication over the telephone network

Series X Data networks, open system communications and security
Series Y Global information infrastructure, Internet protocol aspects, next-generation networks, Internet
of Things and smart cities
Series Z Languages and general software aspects for telecommunication systems

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