Optical fiber-based distributed antenna systems that support multiple-input, multiple-output (
MIMO) antenna configurations and communications. Embodiments disclosed herein include
optical fiber-based
distributed antenna system that can be flexibly configured to support or not support
MIMO communications configurations. In one embodiment, first and second
MIMO communication paths are shared on the same
optical fiber using
frequency conversion to avoid interference issues, wherein the second communication path is provide to a remote extension unit to remote antenna unit. In another embodiment, the
optical fiber-based distributed antenna systems may be configured to allow to provide
MIMO communication configurations with existing components. Existing capacity of
system components are employed to create second communication paths for MIMO configurations, thereby reducing overall capacity, but allowing avoidance of
frequency conversion components and remote extension units.