HFC Network

As we enter the new year, consumers, workplaces, and schools continue to rely on video conference applications. We previously studied Bandwidth Usage of Popular Video Conferencing Applications in November 2020 and February 2021.  In May 2021, we studied Hourly Data Consumption of Popular Video Conferencing Applications. Today, we share a study of bandwidth usage on […]

As consumers’ bandwidth needs continue to grow, cable operators are always thinking of ways to expand their network capacity to accommodate future increases in data traffic—especially upstream traffic. Band splits play an important role in that effort, taking advantage of the incredible resiliency of cable’s hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) network. What Is a Band Split and […]

Building on our prior work, this investigation explores the hourly data consumption of popular video conferencing applications: Google Meet, GoToMeeting, Microsoft Teams and Zoom. As video conference applications have become an integral part of our daily lives, we wanted to not only better understand the bandwidth usage as previously explored, but also the total data […]

This month, we continue our CableLabs 101 series by peeling back the next layer of the hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) distributed access network with a recently released specification called Flexible MAC Architecture (FMA). This technology isn’t as well known as DOCSIS®, Remote PHY or Coherent Optics, but it’s just as essential to make 10G a reality […]

In our previous CableLabs 101 post about Distributed Access Architecture (DAA), we discussed the benefits of distributing key network functions throughout the cable access network to optimize its performance. Today, we delve deeper into Remote PHY—one of the earliest DAA solutions that cable operators are deploying to increase their network’s bandwidth and more. What Is […]

As working from home and remote schooling remain the norm for most of us, we wanted to build on and extend our prior investigation of the bandwidth usage of popular video conferencing applications. In this post, we examine the use of video conferencing applications over a broadband service of 50 Mbps downstream and 5 Mbps […]

This month, we’d like to share information about Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) and how cable operators are using it to build the 10G networks of the future. In our previous posts about DOCSIS® and Coherent Optics technologies, we touched on some of the components of the cable hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) network, such as the headend and […]

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that connectivity is essential to our wellbeing and happiness. It fosters a sense of belonging—whether it’s to our family, our school, our company or just a random group of like-minded souls. And it’s not so much about the internet or the devices we use—it’s about experiences and staying […]

Welcome back, once again, to the CableLabs 101 series! In our most recent post, we discussed the fiber portion of the hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) network, as well as the coherent optics technology that’s widely considered to be the hyper-capacity future of internet connectivity. Today, we’ll focus on a topic of growing importance for many of […]

Welcome back to the CableLabs 101 series! In our previous post, we discussed the basic components of a typical hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) cable network infrastructure and the role of DOCSIS® technology in data transmission over the coaxial portion of the network. Today, we’ll focus on the fiber portion of the HFC network, as well as […]