By Joe McGarvey, Marketing Director |

Technology takes time.

Even though it’s been six years since CableLabs^® introduced the DOCSIS 4.0 standards, real-world adoption is just beginning. But that doesn’t mean DOCSIS^® 4.0 hasn’t already impacted the cable industry in a big way.

Back in 2019, most cable operators followed the same technology playbook. Then along came DOCSIS 4.0, and suddenly operators had choices — big ones, starting with spectrum allocation. The choices kept coming: Do you go with a mid or high split for upstream bandwidth? Should you dive headfirst into Distributed Access Architecture (DAA), or take a more measured approach? Is it smarter to squeeze every drop of performance out of DOCSIS 3.1, or is it time to move on to DOCSIS 4.0 (or even PON)?

The introduction of all these choices has created a sense of technological divergence across the industry. On top of that, some segments of the community seem to be doing their own thing, exemplified by recent exploratory work around a new version of DOCSIS, as well as exclusive development deals involving foundational technology. Throw in talk about conditioning HFC networks for 5G traffic, and it’s safe to say that the cable industry of today looks little like it did in 2019.

That’s why ATX created the 2050 Project HFC Evolution Survey, now in its fifth year. The most recent edition of the report is focused on capturing how the cable industry has changed over the past few years, a snapshot in time that can best be described as the DOCSIS 4.0 Era.

This year’s survey includes the opinions of more than 120 cable industry professionals from across North America, APAC, EMEA and CALA, offering a wide-angle view of the current state of the cable industry — and where it is headed. As always, the 2025 edition of the survey includes big and recurring questions:

• When will DOCSIS 4.0 reach mainstream adoption?
• Are MSOs still planning to migrate to all-fiber by 2050?
• What is the frequency ceiling of the HFC network?

But given the dynamic nature of technology development and the rapidly evolving competitive landscape, this year’s survey also sought to capture emerging trends, such as the impact of intelligence in the outside plant and the adoption of next-generation energy storage technology.

Here are some of the standout findings:

With so many moving parts, the industry’s future isn’t easy to predict. But one thing is clear: the cable landscape is diversifying. Some operators are moving ahead with DOCSIS 4.0, while others are looking to extract the maximum value from DOCSIS 3.1 before making the jump to DOCSIS 4.0 or accelerating their transition to PON.

At the same time, competition is heating up, and new and impactful technologies — AI, ML, communications transponders, 5G integration — are hovering on the horizon. As always, keeping up with what your peers are planning is critical to understanding where the overall industry is headed.

To get the full breakdown of this year’s findings, including deeper insights into how industry attitudes have evolved since 2019, download the recently published 2050 Project Survey Report. For expert insight on this year’s findings, register for the April 3 webinar featuring ATX’s outside plant experts.

In a time of technological change and diversity, knowledge is always the most impactful competitive advantage.