Broadband communication networks include both high-speed optical fiber transmission backbone networks and broadband access networks (BAN), but developments of the two kinds of networks are very uneven. Particularly, several challenges of BAN such as speed and bandwidth, security and privacy, cost-effectiveness, energy consumption and integration need to be addressed. In this paper, according to the international research reports, a brief overview of the research progress of BAN is presented, and the trend in technology development and key issues of BAN are indicated. At last, the security and privacy enhancement, the cost reduction, the integration and compatibility improvement of BAN are summarized and discussed.

broadband access networks  /  access network integration  /  optical communication  /  passive optical network