Bulls and bears are sizing up cable's future. Analysts say the 'cable broadband growth era is over' – others see opportunities with wireless the 'next leg of growth.'
Nothing beyond DOCSIS 4.0's horizon is officially underway at CableLabs, but the organization is looking at potential spectrum to 3GHz and beyond, CableLabs President and CEO Phil McKinney says.
Charter's 'not that big of a client for us at this point,' says CommScope CEO Chuck Treadway. Yet CommScope remains a key supplier of X1 and Flex boxes powered by Comcast's software platform.
Fresh off a big 5G core deal with Verizon, the cable and wireless supplier is forced to suspend 2022 guidance as visibility is being obstructed by persistent component shortages and general supply chain issues.
Charter, a champion of the 'Generic Access Platform' initiative, showed off a standards-based node capable of supporting DOCSIS, PON and even wireless service modules. Deployments could get underway in 2023.
Harmonic's cable access revenues almost doubled in Q1 as CableOS deployments grew to 6.1 million, with 77 operators signed up to their virtualized access network platform.
Comcast expects to have an FDX Amplifier prototype in its labs by July. If the product works as advertised, it will vastly broaden Comcast's ability to roll out Full Duplex DOCSIS on its HFC networks.
Right now many telcos are still grappling with the early stages of 10G PON, also known as XGS PON, which can deliver multi-gigabit services.
At the CableLabs '10G Showcase,' Charter and Comcast showed progress in the form of DOCSIS 4.0 demos powered by a blend of commercially-ready products and prototype technologies.
The cable operator has yet to announce pricing on the new multi-gigabit speed tier, but said it will make the product available in certain neighborhoods across its footprint later this month.
Envisioning a foundation for 10G, Comcast says a 40km deployment of hollowcore fiber pumped out speeds of 10 Gbit/s to 400 Gbit/s on a single fiber.
Tied into its plans to upgrade the HFC network so it will eventually support 10-Gig speeds, the Alaskan operator is preparing to reclaim gobs of valuable spectrum by phasing out its legacy QAM video services.
Enhanced DOCSIS 3.1 and DOCSIS 4.0 still fit into many cable network roadmaps, but operators are also getting more aggressive with fiber-to-the-premises overlays and buildouts.
Private event to feature strategy discussions, technology presentations and live demos. Industry sources say the demos will include both options for DOCSIS 4.0: Extended Spectrum DOCSIS and Full Duplex DOCSIS.
Elad Nafshi, Comcast's chief network officer, details how the operator will roll out DOCSIS 4.0 over a virtualized platform that will also support targeted deployments of FTTP.
Industry experts believe DOCSIS 3.1 can keep pace with today's fiber competition by pairing a 1.2GHz upgrade with an upstream-expanding 'high-split.' But emergence of new PON technologies could limit the role of DOCSIS 4.0.
Cable is at the start of the commercialization phase of DOCSIS 4.0, a cornerstone of 10G, with suppliers and other tech partners inching toward interops, Charter's Stephanie Mitchko-Beale said at LR's annual cable tech event.
As we have for the past two years, Light Reading will stage the Cable Next-Gen Technologies & Strategies conference as a free digital event over two half-days next Tuesday and Wednesday.
Mediacom Chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso also notes that the cable operator is gearing up to launch '10G' services across its footprint.
Cloonan, who most recently served as interim CTO at CommScope, is a cable industry engineering exec who has played a key role in the evolution of DOCSIS – from 1.0 to 4.0.
