This work proposes a new approach to power passive optical network (PON) extenders using the power-over-fiber technique, turning them virtually passive. This approach eliminates the batteries in the remote sites, improving the reliability and the security of the system. The limits and the perspectives for this approach are discussed in this work. The performance of fiber powered semiconductor optical amplifiers based on the extender is shown with a 10 gigabit passive optical network (XG-PON)/gigabit passive optical network (G-PON) system setup using a 1: 32 splitter and 50 km reach. The conventional method to power the extenders is also presented for the sake of comparison with the proposed power-over-fiber technique.63250258Funttel/Finep Brazil, under the GIGA Project