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FEATURE CABLE NETWORKS
DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem minimum requirements, the increase would be greater than five times over currently deployed capabilities.’ Many configuration changes can be gradual,
Rice said: ‘DOCSIS 3.1 is designed to work on existing HFC networks and with existing back office systems. It will coexist with current technologies on the same network. Te adoption or deployment should be fairly straightforward because of the backward compatibility benefits.’ New DOCSIS 3.1 customer premises
equipment (CPE) can operate as a DOCSIS 3.0 CPE if the network infrastructure has not yet been upgraded. Conversely, DOCSIS 3.0 channels can be ‘bonded’ to the new DOCSIS 3.1 bandwidth, which means it is not necessary to install DOCSIS 3.1 CPE unless the customer orders a faster broadband service. Tis reduces the initial investment, allowing cable operators to spend money on CPE only where there is a revenue opportunity. Furthermore, he points out that the migration
to DOCSIS 3.1 can be implemented separately on the downstream and upstream channels. Tis allows for quicker expansion of the congested downstream channels using some of the DOCSIS 3.1 features. Upstream support can be upgraded later when additional upstream bandwidth is required. However, boosting the upstream bandwidth
by changing the cable frequency split is a more serious operation, requiring modification to the amplifiers in the street and new cable modems in customers’ homes as well as upgrades to head- end equipment. Te cable network may also be out of service for a prolonged period during the upgrade. Te question is, at what point does the disruption become so significant that it would be worth considering replacing the network with fibre all the way to the customer? ‘Naturally, cable operators are looking to
UK cable operator Virgin Media is using micro-trenching to extend its network with fibre and provide gigabit services in the village of Papworth Everard, near Cambridge
leverage their existing assets and what they have in the ground,’ commented Doug Blue, solutions marketing director at Calix. ‘But, I think cable
Issue 7 • Spring 2015 FIBRE SYSTEMS 17
Virgin Media
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