Capacity Assessment in Converged Metro-Access Optical Networks for end-to-end RAN Fronthaul

In this paper, we present a capacity and feasibility analysis of converged metro-access optical networks for supporting Radio Access Network (RAN) fronthauling, based on Bit Error Rate (BER) profiling. Using two commercially available transceivers—Cassini DCO and Phoenix—we assess the performance of various modulation formats (DP-QPSK and DP-16QAM) and symbol rates (32 Gbaud and 64 Gbaud) across all routes in a metro-access topology. The study evaluates route feasibility under two BER thresholds (10−3 and 10−2), offering detailed insights into the trade-offs between capacity, symbol rate, and transmission robustness. Our results demonstrate that while higher-order modulations and higher symbol rates enable greater throughput, they exhibit lower tolerance to transmission impairments, significantly reducing the number of feasible routes. Conversely, lower-order modulations and reduced symbol rates provide more resilient performance over a wider range of network conditions. These findings support the potential of utilizing existing metro-access infrastructure to efficiently and reliably support high-bandwidth, low-latency RAN connectivity for 5G and 6G networks