21 Gb/s after 100 km OFDM long-reach PON transmission using a cost-effective electro-absorption modulator.

We experimentally demonstrate a superior performance of 2.1-Tb/s·km OFDM signal transmission over 100-km long-reach PONs. While the bandwidth of a 100-km SMF transmission system is limited to 4.3 GHz due to positive chirp, we successfully achieve spectrally-efficient 21-Gb/s signaling by using a cost-effective and low-chirp EAM, and adopting the 128-QAM format and adaptive subcarrier pre-emphasis.