Аннотация:Gigabit-class passive optical networks have been standardized and are now being deployed. This article presents possible migration scenarios toward the next-generation PON and proposes a technology roadmap of evolutionary growth (termed NG-PON1) vs. revolutionary change (termed NG-PON2). This article then details the general requirements for NG-PON1 to support various popular applications many service providers expressed interests on as well as to enable smooth migration from Gigabit PON.