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DOCSIS 4.0 - 10gig from Virgin Media in a few years?

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  • 12-08-2021 12:54pm
    #1
    bk
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 22,655 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    I recently watched a very interesting presentation by the HFC Architect at Liberty Global (Virgin Media Irelands parent company) about DOCIS 4.0 and I thought some folks here might be interested.

    They seem to feel that they can deliver a true 10Gig product using DOCSIS 4.0 on cable and can compete with XPS-GPON FTTH.

    Unfortunately the option they are looking to go for won't support symmetric, but it should support upload speeds of at least 1gig, a nice upgrade from the 50mb/s of today and possibly faster.

    Upgrading to DOCSIS 4.0 won't be cheap or particularly easy, so it will come down to accounting/costings whether upgrading to DOCSIS 4.0 or rolling new XPS-GPON FTTH makes more sense for different areas. It is likely to be a mix of both, like they are currently doing in Poland.

    A couple of other tidbits of info:

    • It will require upgrading to 1.8GHz bandwidth on the cable and as a result updates to all the taps, etc.
    • Next gen remote PHY nodes feed by fiber (ethernet/PON), so basically the fiber is closer to your home.
    • All IP infrastructure in the home. No more coax runs in your home, only coax to the modem. They will be going all IPTV for TV, no more DVB-C channels. Need to free up the space for bandwidth. They have already rolled out a new all IPTV box in Poland. It is about the size of your hand, similar to NowTV or AppleTV box and can be powered by the TV's USB port. Only HDMI, USB, wifi/ethernet, no coax.

    Presentation here for anyone interested, though fairly technical:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NNDqfx6tt4



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  • Options
    #2
    RangeR
    Registered Users Posts: 7,265 ✭✭✭RangeR


    *double post, can't delete *



  • Options
    #3
    bk
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 22,655 Mod ✭✭✭✭bk


    It seems that in the UK, Virgin have decided to skip DOCSIS 4.0 completely.

    Instead they are going to switch to FTTP, with in long term speeds up too 50gig !

    They will continue to sell cable and DOCSIS 3.1 with speeds up to 1gig (and maybe 2gig in future), but for customers who order 5gig, 10gig, etc. they will pull a fibre drop to the home. They will actually be running fibre throughout their network, but only making the drops where needed.

    Sort of like how Eir continues to sell DSL over phones lines up to 100mb/s, but if you want faster it will be FTTH.

    It will take many years if not decades, but long term it looks like cable is dead.

    BTW they also said that they will likely do similar in Ireland.

    https://www.lightreading.com/cable-tech/docsis-isnt-dead-in-uk-liberty-global-ceo-says/d/d-id/771214



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