21285 - SCTE Broadband Dec2021 COMPLETE v1

23 Vol. 43 No. 4 - November 2021 Issue from the industry DOCSIS has evolved a lot over the last 25 years and this means an extended lifespan for coaxial networks. The networks have also evolved to meet the possibilities that DOCSIS offered. The HFC network started as an analogue optical system which over time transitioned to a digital optical network. The used spectrum has expanded from 600MHz to the current 3GHz. HFC is currently like a piece of clay on the potter’s wheel. Depending on what happens with the clay in the potters hands and which tools are used, there are endless possibilities for the potter to work the clay into something useful, something to be used for a long time. We can consider the DOCSIS standard as the tools in this scenario; these will define where things are going, FDX and ESD are those possibilities and a number of hybrid solutions in between as well. This migration is another large migration for a network. The clay itself and the wheel also have a bearing on this. If the clay is the network – then the wheel is the geography, demography and users. Coaxial networks are like clay and can be molded. They have also some of the natural flaws that Mother Nature throws into the clay. The network has an organic feel to it; this is not a one-solution-fits-all situation. The biggest demand on the network is high traffic; COVID-19 certainly demonstrated that, as the broadband demand shot up in people’s homes from an after-work pastime to heavy, 24-hour usage with multiple users per home. Bandwidth surged from 50-150% in weeks, with schools, offices, health and social usage adding virtual services. This resulted in more pressure on the networks, segmentation of existing nodes and bringing forward upgrade projects that had been scheduled several years ahead. This acceleration forced mid and high splits into the mix to ensure that upstream bandwidth continued to function. Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) with both remote PHY and remote MACPHY are now emerging and adding more to the bandwidth, as segmentation alone is not enough to provide the required upstream capability in some areas. These areas are transitioning from standard nodes to DAA or R-PHY solutions in order to meet capacity demands. With this transition the head ends are also getting an overhaul as they move towards more virtual services. vCCAP (Virtual Converged Cable Access Platform) converges all of the networks together, requiring a central platform to support all of these is necessary. Virtualisation moves the networks closer and also adds networks into the management and provisioning: HFC, FTT*, 4G/5G ultimately become one, with virtualisation controlling all of these and ensuring the experience for the subscriber remains ultra-fast broadband speeds and services, no matter which transport medium is used. Virtualisation moves the bar in a number of areas, as the rack space disappears. Gone are the days of large headend, with the associated cooling problems, and more is moved into the cloud. Moving the headends closer to the users with the MACPHY solutions is one way the rack space reduces, and the virtualisation the other way. Headends space will decrease and the real estate that once was the headend will become a virtual headend. HFC now becomes part of the bigger picture and adds value to the other transport mediums; it can also coexist, ensuring that broadband signals are available. FTT* This refers to the ubiquitous acronyms seen all over this industry now. Fibre to the *; the asterisk refers to Premises, Basement, Building, Home, Curb, or shed. Fibre deployment was advancing at a steady pace, COVID-19 has increased the deployments. More of us are working from home and the need for broadband that works has seen a huge increase in installations. Governments worldwide have provided substantial funding to aid this deployment by investing in networks and fibre to the home. XGS-PON Copper HFC is one copper solution and the Telcos have the other the DSL network has seen the last of the big investments. The telephone centrals are slowly being repurposed. A lot of investments have migrated from DSL towards fibre with optical line terminals (OLT). Most of the DSL world is now actively promoting this transition towards fibre; North America, EMEA, and CALA have all moved from maintenance of DSL to the expansion of the fibre infrastructures. All of the above contributes to the expansion of fibre globally. It means the development of the next generation of networks and over time all of these networks will gradually converge into one solution for broadband fibre. These fibre networks are expanding to ensure that the increased demand for bandwidth is met; however the need for an agile network puts demands on openness, this has always been the restriction