System and method for providing multi-provider telecommunications services over a passive optical network

• US 10,045,099 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2015
• Issued: 08/07/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: McNaughton, James Lloyd, Markway, Randall Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): SANDHU, AMRITBIR K
• Application Number:
  US14/963,346
• Publication Number:
  US 20160094901A1
• Time in Patent Office: 972 Days
• Field of Search: 398 45, 398 58, 398168, 398 43, 398 68, 398 70, 398 71, 398 98-100
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/25 Arrangements specific to fibre transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1471 splitting of costs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0067 Provisions for optical access or distribution networks, e.g. Gigabit Ethernet Passive Optical Network (GE-PON), ATM-based Passive Optical Network (A-PON), PON-Ring
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/0079 Operation or maintenance aspects

Abstract

A method for providing access to a passive optical network for services to homes or businesses from two or more telecommunications service providers and a billing means is described. A first service provider connects to a point of presence at one side of passive optical network. The provider transmits the appropriate services through this network to an authorization receiver. The authorization receiver is used to receive a periodic authorization code from the network provider to enable the appropriate services from the service provider to be transmitted to a subscriber at a home or business. The authorization receiver enables an optical fiber path to be established for the services to flow to and from the home or business. The authorization code that is transmitted through the network also provides an unambiguous means to provide a billing record such that the service provider can be billed by the network provider on an individual service address connected basis in conjunction with a record of houses passed and not yet connected.

Claims

1. A network for delivering telecommunication services, the network comprising:

a passive optical network;

a point of presence maintained by a network provider for receiving service provider signals from at least two service providers, the point of presence being configured to;

transmit a first service provider signal from a first service provider over the passive optical network;

transmit a second service provider signal from a second service provider over the passive optical network;

determine, at the point of presence, an identity of at least one of the first service provider or the second service provider;

determine, at the point of presence, at least one subscriber premises authorized to receive at least one of the first service provider signal or the second service provider signal, wherein the point of presence determines the at least one subscriber premises authorized to receive at least one of the first service provider signal or the second service provider signal, by extracting subscriber information embedded in at least one of the first service provider signal or the second service provider signal;

encode;

at the point of presence, a first authorization signal for the first service provider signal, the first authorization signal comprising one or more first authorization codes;

encode, at the point of presence, a second authorization signal for the second service provider signal, the second authorization signal comprising one or more second authorization codes;

transmit the first authorization signal, including the one or more first authorization codes; and

transmit the second authorization signal, including the one or more second authorization codes; and

a plurality of optical receivers in communication with the point of presence over the passive optical network and configured to receive the first service provider signal and the second service provider signal, each of the plurality of optical receivers being associated with a different subscriber premises of the at least one subscriber premises, the plurality of optical receivers comprising a first optical receiver associated with a first subscriber premises, the first optical receiver being configured to;

receive, from the point of presence, the first authorization signal and the second authorization signal;

determine, based on the first authorization signal and the second authorization signal, which of the first service provider signal or the second service provider signal the first subscriber premises is authorized to receive; and

receive the authorized service provider signal.

2. The network of claim 1, wherein the passive optical network comprises at least two optical fiber paths connecting each one of the plurality of optical receivers to the point of presence;

wherein the first service provider signal is transmitted from the point of presence to the plurality of optical receivers over a first optical fiber path; and

wherein the second service provider signal is transmitted from the point of presence to the plurality of optical receivers over a second optical fiber path.

3. The network of claim 1, wherein the first optical receiver further is in communication with an optoelectronics unit which separates each one of the first service provider signal and the second service provider signal into separate telecommunications signals for use by individual consumer devices at the first subscriber premise.

4. The network of claim 3, wherein each one of the separate telecommunications signals comprises at least one signal selected from a group consisting of:

a video signal, a voice signal, or a broadband internet signal.

5. The network of claim 3, wherein the optoelectronics unit is integral with the first optical receiver.

6. The network of claim 1, wherein detecting that the first subscriber premises is authorized to receive the first service provider signal comprises comparing the one or more first authorization codes with a stored authorization code stored in the first optical receiver to detect a matching authorization code that matches the stored authorization code.

7. The network of claim 6, wherein:

the first optical receiver allows the first service provider signal to remain connected for a predetermined period of time once the matching authorization code is detected.

8. The network of claim 1, wherein each one of the one or more first authorization codes and each one of the one or more second authorization codes comprises an eight bit binary code.

9. The network of claim 1, wherein each one of the one or more first authorization codes and each one of the one or more second authorization codes is modulated onto a Radio frequency (RF) carrier using at least one of quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) schemes before being converted to an optical format.

10. The network of claim 1, wherein the passive optical network comprises at least one optical splitter for directing the first service provider signal to the first subscriber premises and the second service provider signal to a second subscriber premises, the first subscriber premises and the second subscriber premises being different subscriber premises.

11. A method for providing telecommunication services over a network, the method comprising:

maintaining, by a network provider, a point of presence for receiving service provider signals from at least two service providers;

transmitting, from the point of presence and over a passive optical network, a first service provider signal from a first service provider;

transmitting, from the point of presence and over the passive optical network, a second service provider signal from a second service provider over the passive optical network;

determining, at the point of presence, an identity of at least one of the first service provider or the second service provider;

determining, at the point of presence, at least one subscriber premises authorized to receive at least one of the first service provider signal or the second service provider signal, wherein the point of presence determines the at least one subscriber premises authorized to receive at least one of the first service provider signal or the second service provider signal, by extracting subscriber information embedded in at least one of the first service provider signal or the second service provider signal;

encoding, at the point of presence, a first authorization signal for the first service provider signal, the first authorization signal comprising one or more first authorization codes;

encoding, at the point of presence, a second authorization signal for the second service provider signal, the second authorization signal comprising one or more second authorization codes;

transmitting, from the point of presence, the first authorization signal, including the one or more first authorization codes;

transmitting, from the point of presence, the second authorization signal, including the one or more second authorization codes;

receiving at a first optical receiver at a first subscriber premises, the first authorization signal and the second authorization signal from the point of presence;

determining, based on the first authorization signal and the second authorization signal, which of the first service provider signal or the second service provider signal the first subscriber premises is authorized to receive; and

receiving the authorized service provider signal.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the passive optical network comprises at least two optical fiber paths connecting a plurality of optical receivers to the point of presence;

wherein the first service provider signal is transmitted from the point of presence to the plurality of optical receivers over a first optical fiber path; and

wherein the second service provider signal is transmitted from the point of presence to the plurality of optical receivers over a second optical fiber path.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the first optical receiver further is in communication with an optoelectronics unit which separates each one of the first service provider signal and the second service provider signal into separate telecommunications signals for use by individual consumer devices at the first subscriber premise.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein each one of the separate telecommunications signals comprises at least one signal selected from a group consisting of:

a video signal, a voice signal, or a broadband internet signal.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the optoelectronics unit is integral with the first optical receiver.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein determining that the first subscriber premises is authorized to receive the first service provider signal comprises comparing the one or more first authorization codes with a stored authorization code stored in the first optical receiver to detect a matching authorization code that matches the stored authorization code.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein:

the first optical receiver allows the first service provider signal to remain connected for a predetermined period of time once the matching authorization code is detected.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein each one of the one or more first authorization codes and each one of the one or more second authorization codes comprises an eight bit binary code.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein each one of the one or more first authorization codes and each one of the one or more second authorization codes is modulated onto a Radio frequency (RF) carrier using at least one of quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) schemes before being converted to an optical format.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the passive optical network comprises at least one optical sputter for directing the first service provider signal to the first subscriber premises and the second service provider signal to a second subscriber premises, the first subscriber premises and the second subscriber premises being different subscriber premises.