
television, and some consider it a valuable element of future optical access as well
[13, 14]. Multicast is an important tool for optimizing IP networks, and it promises
to become more so as IP video and other streaming media continue to expand. Some
ROADMs, typically those with power splitters at the drop branch, support optical
multicast easily. The multidegree ROADM of Figure 8.9 is one example. Multicast-
capable 1 M WSS have also been demonstrated [15], but these WSS are not yet
able to broadcast to all M ports at the same time. For a two-degree OADM, optical
multicast is equivalent to a drop-and-continue function, and it has been demon-
stra ...