the fpga logic allows a single chip the fpga chip to control the pon operation using one chip to control the pon reduces costs power consumption space etc further using one chip provides increased reliability using the fpga also avoids typical parallel efforts between hardware and software development engineering groups with their well known communication delays and difficulties with integrating and testing two disparate design parts moreover updates to the hardware and software can be provided in one combined image image is a term for an array of data bytes used to program a device such as a fpga often software is updated in the field by downloading an image in this case from olt 102 to onu 104 onu 104 would then use the new image to update itself without destroying its functionality occasionally programmable hardware is updated with a new image in the above fashion the new hardware often needs software to recognize the new hardware by using a single fpga to do both the hardware and software functions the software and hardware updates can be transmitted using a single image using programmable hardware also provides unique operational advantages in particular performing multiple tasks in a microprocessor based software is in reality performing a little piece of each task in serial choosing suitably small pieces to give the illusion that they are happening simultaneously implementing the software in the fpga.