In the configuration of an optical communication system interconnecting a parent station and a plurality of child stations via an optical fiber network equipped with an optical splitter, RE is provided having a measuring unit for measuring a transmission distance or time to a child station, a determining unit for determining a timing when a child station transmits a signal, in accordance with a transmission bandwidth request from the child station, and a signal processing unit for processing a signal received from a child station and transmitting the processed signal to the parent station. When a burst signal is received from each child station at the determined timing, a portion of the header of the burst signal is deleted, and a dummy signal is inserted into the deleted area and a gap area between received burst signals to convert the burst signals into a series of signals to be sent to the parent station.