In general, this project defines and develops networks and subsystems that enable reconfiguration of the network, hereby adding flexibility into the network. We list below scientific challenges which will be addressed in four years.

On the network aspect:

• To identify and evaluate solutions for cost-effective capacity upgrade of access networks to meet or exceed the requirements of future applications.

• To identify and evaluate solutions for efficient transmission of broadband wired and wireless traffic at the physical layer.

• To define possible ways to introduce dynamic capacity allocation at the optical layer, thereby avoiding local congestion and reducing power consumption.

• To achieve a maximum throughput of power/bandwidth limited POF and to define a suitable advanced modulation format.

• To investigate point-to-multipoint bidirectional POF networks using passive all-optical solutions with the aim for convergence of wired and wireless solution on a single platform.

• To design and test necessary extensions of algorithm in the control and management layer to support the proposed solutions.

On the sub-system aspect:

• To specify requirements for a multi-wavelength transceiver in the central office and a tunable transceiver in the user premises.

• To realize and characterize the multi-wavelength transceiver and the tunable transceiver. The realization and characterization can be developed partly in another project within the Perspective Program

• To realize a demonstrator of the flexible optical network using the photonic integrated solutions. The demonstrator can serve as a basis platform for the residential gateway for a home network.