Why State of polarization tracking in important in case of OPGW(optical ground wire) fibers

State of polarization (refer my previous article on what is SOP) play and important role in OPGW fibers .If we do not track the changes it may lead to an increase in polarization dependent loss .As we know that the OPGW fibers are typically deployed along power transmission lines, where mechanical stresses and environmental factors can cause SOP variations resulting in PDL , crosstalk and interference eventually leading to Signal degradation impacting the desired OSNR .

So we just wonder is there any alternative to this ?-(apart from polarization maintaining fiber and polarization controllers what else could there be ?)Again we have coherent receivers coming as a SOS here as well , now how do they achieve this ?

So they usually have DSP algorithms having capabilities to track and compensate for SOP changes wherein the receiver can adjust and align its internal polarization reference to match the changing polarization state of the incoming signal. The mathematical calculations involved in SOP tracking and control are based on vector algebra, complex number operations, and statistical estimation techniques. These calculations allow the receiver to estimate and adjust the SOP in real-time, compensating for SOP changes and maintaining optimal reception and performance.