An optical transmitter generates a transmission signal having a frame as a unit, the frame including a single optical pilot signal with a constant optical phase and a plurality of phase-modulated optical data signals, and outputs the transmission signal into a transmission line. In a receiver, a splitter splits the optical signal input from the transmission line. On a second arm of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, an optical gate transmits the optical pilot signal and a duplicator duplicates the optical pilot signal output from the optical gate at predetermined time intervals. A balanced optical receiver converts the interfered optical signal output from the interferometer into an electrical signal. A gate and a discriminator extract the data from the electrical signal output from the receiver.