21285 - SCTE Broadband Dec2021 COMPLETE v1

58 Vol. 43 No. 4 - November 2021 Issue spotlight on What’s the big deal with all this? A coax connection is old. It might have been in the ground 20 years or more; fibre is new! So out with the old then? Not at all. Nothing wrong with coax if that’s what you have already. So if it ain’t broke… All this talk is just marketing spin surely? Coax is fine in the short term but realistically, you need to upgrade to fibre if you’re thinking long term, and the roll out is well underway now. As a result, yes you’re right, there has been a lot of hype about fibre and it is certainly seen as the new, sexy replacement for coax. The reality is the speeds are pretty good for coax, given the requirements of the average user, even one working from home as we have been. Worth remembering too that the average user doesn’t really know or care about the type of network he is connected to, as long as the performance is satisfactory.. Upgrades like DOCSIS 3.1 to the existing coax network are being carried out now to cover the growing need for capacity and network speed, so things are basically ok as they are and will be for at least another 5 years. There is also the new DOCSIS 4 in the wings so DOCSIS continues to be developed. I don’t even know what connection I have. What does it matter? Stickers on street cabinets should tell you what you have in your local area, and it’s good to know. It might not seem important. But really, it’s about speed and performance of your broadband; that does matter. That affects you in your daily life. Tell me about it. Nothing more frustrating than endless buffering. Regardless of your connection, at some point in the future whether it’s with a coaxial connection and bandwidth upgrades like DOCSIS 4.0 upgrades or a new fibre roll out, buffering will be a thing of the past. Waiting for your movie, pdf, email or game to download will be a long-forgotten curiosity, like Bakelite telephones or the cassette tape. “Tell us again about the buffering Grandpa,” etc. You watch! Fair enough. Is fibre really the future? Absolutely, but as long as existing coaxial networks are continuing to function well, we won’t see this technology just written off for the sake of it. We’re in a transitional period right now. What does that mean in our day-to-day lives? Not that you would notice it, but there is some doubling up going on behind the scenes. Operators might be running two networks while coax is still in use. For that you need supporting technicians for both networks, management systems for both networks. As you might imagine, manufacturers obviously support the coax-upgrades and new standards with new equipment as it saves money, time and effort all round. So how can the SCTE help? Well, the Society has a long history in theoretical training for both systems and in the case of fibre, the Society takes the lead in providing training material in addition to practical training by the manufacturers themselves. The SCTE plays an important role in this transition to fibre for engineers, manufacturers and operators. Spotlight on As a result of the ongoing fibre roll-out, operators offer fibre subscriptions while the existing coax connection is still in place and operational. Why would a subscriber have to make a choice and based upon what arguments? We put our VP Rien Baan to the test. Choosing between coax and fibre-connection by Rien Baan, Vice President, SCTE