Active Ethernet (AE)
Active Ethernet is a fibre access design in which each customer has a dedicated point-to-point fibre link to powered network equipment, rather than sharing a fibre through splitters.
What is Active Ethernet (AE)?
In an active Ethernet network, also called an active optical network (AON), each subscriber's terminal connects directly to a port on an aggregation switch or OLT. That equipment may sit in the exchange or in a powered street cabinet. Because each link is dedicated, the customer does not share capacity and the reach can be longer. The trade-offs are more fibres and more powered equipment in the field. Some systems send and receive on separate wavelengths over a single fibre; one source gives 1490 nm downstream and 1310 nm upstream.