In a dual speed passive optical network, an optical line termination (OLT) transmits a communication signal having a 10-Gb/s partition and a 2.5-Gb/s partition. The 10-Gb/s partition includes a 10 G data signal and a 2.5 G clock signal so that the PLL of a 2.5 G (legacy) optical network termination (ONT) can remain locked while a 10 G ONT is receiving data. The 2.5 G clock signal includes 1-bit spike signals of greater amplitude than the 10 G data signal.