Blog
March 28, 2024
Take the Finding Your Next-Gen Node Platform Quiz
By Joe McGarvey, Marketing Director |
If a move to DOCSIS 4.0 is potentially in your future — whether that’s tomorrow or in five years — there’s no better time than now to start mapping out a strategy for migrating the nodes in your HFC network to support 1.8GHz, DAA and third-party access technologies.
The HFC network is a marvel of reuse and resiliency, with much of the equipment installed over the prior decade, or even further back, capable of being upgraded through simple component swaps. While a healthy number of nodes introduced when 1GHz or even 750MHz was the top frequency of the HFC network are capable of being upgraded to handle future requirements, the reality is that a significant portion of the current installed base of HFC nodes was not designed with the future in mind.
The good news is that ATX recently published a white paper to assist MSOs in their next-gen node journeys.
That means that MSOs considering evolving their networks to support the FDD, or Extended Spectrum, version of the DOCSIS 4.0 specifications will need to start figuring out how, or even if, they can extend the capabilities of this critical element of their access networks.
The good news is that ATX recently published a white paper to assist MSOs in their next-gen node journeys. By answering a series of questions, MSOs will be in a great position to determine if the nodes currently in their networks are designed for the long haul or if they should start looking for an alternative to help get them to the 10G Promised Land.
What follows is a list of questions that MSOs should start asking their node suppliers — beginning today. For an analysis of why these questions are important and to understand why the ATX GigaXtend™ GS7 1.8GHz Node, the next generation of the venerable GS7000 node platform, will enable MSOs to extend previous investments well into the future, both economically and seamlessly, download the short white paper.
- Does your node have a published roadmap for DOCSIS 4.0 Extended Spectrum DOCSIS?
- Is there sufficient space in the node housing lid to support the installation of an RPD module without replacing the lid?
- Does your node’s housing support third-party DAA modules?
- Is your node vendor delivering a highly reliable and open platform?
- Do the seizure mechanisms of your node support 1.8GHz with minimal effort to upgrade?
- Is your node manufacturer committed to the MSO market and the long-term evolution of the HFC network?
- Is your node vendor making strides to reduce risk in its supply chain by moving manufacturing to North America?
Completing this checklist should provide MSOs with a much better assessment of their next-gen node strategy. Depending on your existing node platforms’ suitability to support 1.8GHz and DAA based on the above questions, MSOs should come away from this quiz with either peace of mind about the long-term viability of existing nodes in their networks or a clear mandate to start shopping for a replacement.
