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We present a study concerning the network planning of 60 GHz gigabit wireless local area networks (WLANs) over existing passive optical network (PON) infrastructures. Two fiber-wireless configurations for gigabit WLAN network formations are investigated: i) the Radio & Fiber (R&F) approach that considers several 802.11ad access points connected to conventional gigabit passive optical network (GPON) optical network units, henceforth termed as the GPON-plus-802.11ad approach; and ii) the Radio-over-Fiber (RoF) paradigm that employs several remote access units operating under the medium-transparent MAC (MT-MAC) protocol, hence termed as the MT-MA-Cover-PON approach. Simulation-based throughput and delay results are obtained for both network scenarios, revealing the dependence of the 60 GHz enterprise network performance on several network-planning parameters such as load, traffic shape, number of optical wavelengths in the backhaul, and optical backhaul fiber length, highlighting in each case the prevailing architecture. Based on the respective findings we also study a hybrid multitier architecture, termed the GPON-plus-MT-MAC approach, that fuses the abilities of both the RoF and R&F architectures in order to optimally combine their properties and set a framework for next-generation 60 Ghz fiber-wireless networks.

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