Midco's Pao Lo on DOCSIS 3.1 'stretch,' D4.0 and mobile's potential

DENVER – CABLE NEXT-GEN – Under its "Fiber Forward" initiative, Midco is using a blend of enhancements – including mid-split upgrades and a selective use of high-splits – to drive more upstream capacity and extend the life of its hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) network. And, in some cases, Midco is pivoting to fiber-to-the-premises technology to help fulfill its five-year plan.

Update: Alongside its use of mid-split upgrades, Midco is using remote PHY high-split upgrades for multiple dwelling units (MDUs) in fiber-to-the-premises/greenfield areas where fiber to the MDU is not a possibility. Midco is also going with remote PHY with a high-split for a projected 10,000 homes passed in Lennox, South Dakota, and is in the process of operationalizing it, according to Pao Lo, Midco's vice president of network engineering.

Lo joined us here this week to outline the operator's multi-faceted network evolution plan, including the anticipated use of DOCSIS 3.1 "stretch" – a term that Lo is using to describe an emerging enhancement for D3.1 networks that takes advantage of additional OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) channels.

DOCSIS 3.1 stretch "really buys you five to six to maybe even eight years of runway in terms of our product," Lo said.

Though DOCSIS 3.1 stretch (sometimes labeled DOCSIS 3.1 extended or DOCSIS 3.1+) puts operators in position to offer around 8 Gbit/s downstream and more than 1 Gbit/s upstream, Lo says he expects DOCSIS 4.0 to play a limited role at Midco.

Lo said Midco is also exploring mobile options, including how Midco might tap into the National Content & Technology Cooperative's agreements with AT&T and Reach.

Below is a snapshot of topics that Lo discussed (click the closed captioning button in the player for a lightly edited transcript):