Abstract: Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a device, comprising an optical package, a frequency discriminator configured to provide complementing signals that include phase noise associated with a local oscillator (LO) input, a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) system adapted to provide one or more phase information signals by amplifying a difference of the complementing signals, and an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) configured to process the one or more phase information signals to derive an estimation of the phase noise, wherein the frequency discriminator is implemented in the optical package and integrated with the TIA system and the ASIC to facilitate avoidance of enhanced equalized phase noise (EEPN). Other embodiments are disclosed.