Power-Saving Methods for Internet of Things over Converged Fiber-Wireless Access Networks

The IoT has been emerging as the next big leap in the information and communication technology sector. Providing a unified communication platform to support billions of smart connected devices seamlessly alongside existing voice and Internet services is vitally challenging. This article leverages converged fiber-wireless (FiWi) access networks to design a shared communication infrastructure for supporting both IoT applications and traditional services. Given the paramount importance of energy efficiency in both IoT and access networks, the article discusses the possibilities and potential challenges of designing and implementing power-saving mechanisms to prolong battery life of IoT devices while reducing energy consumption of the optical backhaul network. In-depth technical guidelines are provided through end-to-end power-saving solutions proposed for typical IoT deployment scenarios.