The 2050 Project Survey Report
2023 Edition-Results & Analysis of HFC Evolution Survey

The ATX 2050 Project is now in its third year of uncovering industry insights on the HFC evolution. The 2023 Edition of the 2050 Project Survey Report, like the prior surveys from 2021 and 2022, provides MSOs with a moment-in-time snapshot of the attitudes and opinions of HFC network operators of all sizes as they chart the course of their transition to an all-fiber future. Variables include timing, costs, competitive concerns and other factors impacting the long-term evolution of outside plants. A major objective of the survey is to deliver cable industry professionals an invaluable view of the network transformation plans of their peers. The survey not only seeks to uncover cable operators’ most recent attitudes toward the adoption of new technologies such as DOCSIS^® 4.0 and eco-friendly Energy Storage but also enable cable operators to make strategic choices for the future of their HFC networks.

The report includes the opinions of more than 80 cable professionals, representing 60 companies, that were captured earlier this year. Download the 2023 report to discover cable operators’ latest plans for evolving their HFC networks and how those plans have changed over the past two years.

Key Findings:

Nearly half (48%) of all respondents say they will activate DOCSIS 4.0 in their HFC networks before the end of 2025.

The percentage of survey takers who believe 1.8GHz will be the top frequency of their HFC plants more than doubled over the past two years — from 20% to 43%.

Nearly 65% of cable industry professionals now say their companies will install DOCSIS 4.0-capable equipment as soon as it is available.

Concern about FTTH competitors is abating, as fewer MSOs consider FTTH providers a significant threat than they did a year ago.

FDD, at 43%, displaced Unsure as the most popular response to the survey question asking MSOs their preferred flavor (FDD or FDX) of DOCSIS 4.0.

Survey respondents who selected High-split as their preferred method for expanding upstream bandwidth nearly doubled (from 23% to 41%) year-to-year.

Nearly 80% of survey takers identified modernizing lead-acid battery standby power operations as a priority in the coming year.

The percentage of cable professionals who estimate that it will take them 20 years or longer to completely replace their HFC networks increased by 8% in 2023.

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