An ONU comprises a receiver configured to receive a continuous-mode TDMA downstream signal from an OLT; a PD coupled to the receiver and configured to convert the continuous-mode TDMA downstream signal to an electrical signal or an RF signal; an ADC coupled to the PD and configured to convert the electrical signal or the RF signal to a digital signal; and a burst-mode data recovery stage coupled to the ADC and configured to perform data recovery on a segment of the digital signal corresponding to the ONU, the burst-mode data recovery stage comprises a synchronization stage configured to perform synchronization on the segment.