Industry’s first 3GHz-ready HFC product portfolio includes node, amplifiers and hardline taps and passives 

“We built our GigaXtend family of outside plant equipment with the mindset of helping MSOs extend HFC investments all the way to 2050.”

DALLAS, March 30, 2020 – ATX Networks, a global leader in broadband access and media distribution solutions, officially introduced its GigaXtend™ family of next-generation outside plant equipment, an end-to-end lineup of active and passive components designed to enable cable operators to extend the longevity of their HFC networks by 25 years or longer.

Each product line in the GigaXtend portfolio of nodes, amplifiers and hardline taps and passives offers an upgrade path to 3GHz or beyond, providing MSOs with the opportunity to fortify today’s plants with technology that will accommodate several decades of bandwidth expansion with minimal operational disruption.

“ATX is providing our customers with the ability to start building the network of the future, today,” said ATX CEO Charlie Vogt. “We built our GigaXtend family of outside plant equipment with the mindset of helping MSOs extend HFC investments all the way to 2050. Our agile and innovative platforms are engineered to seamlessly accommodate a succession of spectrum extensions without requiring wholesale replacement of equipment, forcing MSOs to undertake massive respacing or resplicing exercises.”

The GigaXtend portfolio is the centerpiece of ATX’s 2050 Project, a strategic vision and network evolution game plan designed to enable MSOs to essentially double the lifespan of their HFC networks. The 2050 Project calls for MSOs to continue to leverage their multi-billion dollar investments to meet future customer requirements for decades to come, while helping to spread out the exorbitant costs of moving to an all-fiber network. The 2050 Project and the GigaXtend portfolio provide the technological foundation and roadmap for DOCSIS® 4.0, Extended Spectrum DOCSIS® (ESD) and other specifications that call for incremental spectrum increases up to 3GHz or higher and bandwidth rates of 25Gbps and faster.

The latest addition to ATX’s outside plant portfolio is the GigaXtend GMC Series of HFC amplifiers, a family of 1.2GHz Line Extenders (LEs) and System Amplifiers (SAs) that offer MSOs both an upgrade path for a wide swath of the current installed base and the opportunity to invigorate their outside plants with technology built to accommodate future spectrum increases of 1.8GHz and beyond. Promising both backward compatibility and a pathway to the future, the new family of amplifiers is built on a trusted and well-regarded technology foundation with a reputation for performance and reliability.

ATX’s amplifier product portfolio currently includes the GigaXtend GMC 1.2GHz Line Extender, the GigaXtend GMC 1.2GHz HGD System Amplifier and the GigaXtend GMC 1.2GHz HGBT System Amplifier. The GigaXtend amplifier roadmap calls for the eventual introduction of products supporting higher spectrum ranges, beginning at 1.8GHz. ATX’s primary amplifier development facility is located in Atlanta and includes several former Cisco and Scientific-Atlanta engineers who joined ATX in 2019.

The addition of amplifier technology strengthens and broadens ATX’s next-generation outside plant portfolio, which currently includes nodes and hardline taps and passives. ATX introduced the GigaXtend XS Series of 2GHz taps and passives and the GigaXtend Universal Access Node platforms in 2019. Both are designed to eventually support 3GHz or higher, as well as offering full compliance with DOCSIS® 3.1, DOCSIS® 4.0 and Generic Access Platform (GAP) specifications.

ATX also extended the diversity of its hardline passives portfolio with the recent introduction of the GigaXtend SG Series of taps and passives, which offers a comprehensive catalog of 1.2GHz outside plant passives.

“We now have the people, products and momentum to provide cable operators across the planet with the technology and expertise required to leverage their HFC investments for decades to come,” added Vogt. “The higher spectrum ranges of DOCSIS® 4.0 and Extended Spectrum DOCSIS® require MSOs to upgrade the actives and passives in their outside plants. Our mission is to provide not just an upgrade path for existing investments, but to do so in a manner that will enable cable operators to stretch out technology cycles and enjoy huge reductions in operational expenses.”

For more information about ATX’s outside plant portfolio, visit www.atx.com.

About ATX Networks

ATX Networks is a global leader in broadband access and media distribution solutions. Every second of every day, our market-leading and award-winning solutions transport more than 2,500 terabytes of data between smart devices and intelligent networks. ATX is teaming with the world’s most innovative cable, satellite, fixed telecom, wireless and media broadcast service providers to usher in a new generation of ubiquitous gigabit broadband. For further information, visit ATX at www.atx.com, and follow us on Twitter @ATXNetworksCorp.