System and method for dynamic bandwidth allocation on PONs 

Mechanisms for providing a subscriber-side interface with a passive optical network are described herein. An optical network termination (ONT) having an integrated broadband passive optical network processor is utilized to receive downstream data from an optical line termination (OLT) via a passive optical network and provide the contents of the downstream data to one or more subscriber devices via one or more data interfaces. Similarly, the ONT is adapted to receive and transmit upstream data from the one or more subscriber devices to the OLT via the passive optical network. The ONT preferably implements one or burst buffers for buffering upstream and/or downstream data. The ONT can be adapted to notify the OLT of the status of the burst buffer, thereby allowing the OLT to modify the bandwidth allocations.