Regional PC communication network for residential use supported by fiber-optic access systems

Abstract

Given the trend towards fiber-optic access network systems, new services and new network functions to support them are required in addition to telephony services. We have researched cost-effective fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) systems and their realization. This paper describes a new personal-computer (PC) communication network system for regional areas and supports connectionless group communication services. The candidates for community communication includes groups such as school classmates, town(-block) associations, hobby clubs, shopping, and games. The proposed system provides cost-effective PC communication services to regional community members who are authenticated by the media access control (MAC) address of each PC and the user's ID. The system can support not only conventional connection-oriented integrated-services-digital-network (ISDN) services, but also connectionless communication services. The system architecture and network management schemes for group communication services are discussed.