Edinburgh Napier University

  Optical and wireless integration scheme merges the high-speed and high-capacity of the optical networks with the low-cost, wide-coverage and mobility features of the wireless counterparts for the Subscriber Stations (SSs). It is also financially viable for the telecommunication service providers, particularly in the rural area where the development of the optical infrastructure or expansion of the exiting telecommunication solutions are either too costly or unreachable. In order to successfully integrate the two technologies, there are some technical concerns in terms of Architectural aspects, Physical Layer features and Media Access Control (MAC) issues. This paper is mainly focused on the MAC-related issues, particularly the dynamic excess bandwidth allocations where the hybrid Passive Optical Network (hybrid PON) is employed as a back haul solution for the wireless counterpart. A mathematical model for a Genetic Algorithm (GA)-based dynamic excess bandwidth allocation algorithm is proposed in this paper. The algorithm is proposed and implemented in order to generate the optimum/near optimum solutions for the problem of excess bandwidth allocations over the converged scenario between hybrid PON and wireless technologies. Keywords—Genetic Algorithm; optical networks; wireless technology; optical and wireless technology integrations; excess bandwidth allocations;