An object of the present invention is to provide an optical communication system and an optical communication method capable of achieving a long transmission distance with a passive element and obtaining redundancy of a ring topology.
The optical communication system according to the present invention is a PON system having a ring configuration, in which an unequal branch optical splitter having a left-right symmetrical configuration is disposed in a trunk fiber wired in a loop shape. An OLT and an ONU have a configuration in which two sets of Tx (transmitter) and Rx (receiver) are mounted. Two sets of Tx (transmitters) and Rx (receivers) in each of a plurality of ONUs are respectively connected to left and right symmetrical ports of one unequally branched light beam SP.