The future of cable standards
Yes, despite not in any way having offspring, I’ve entered my Dad Joke Era.
Cable’s moving toward a new stage itself — she wrote, in a masterful segue -– as people’s internet usage patterns shift. CableLabs’ current standard, DOCSIS 3.1, provides 10 gigabytes per second download speed and only 1.5 Gbps upload. That asymmetry largely worked when most people were just streaming video, checking email and making snarky comments on social media.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, though, the situation was changing. Advances in video gaming meant more time online and required more bandwidth, whether that meant playing games in the cloud to avoid hardware requirements or meeting up with friends online for a World of Warcraft raid. Companies started having video conferences and sharing screens across time zones, people used video chat to keep in touch with loved ones and even medicine took on remote components. The pandemic kicked all of those changes into high gear, and nothing has completely gone back to the way it was. Consumers and businesses need connectivity that lets them send data faster as well as receiving it.
That’s where DOCSIS 4.0 comes in. It keeps the same download speeds as DOCSIS 3.1, but increases the upload limit to 6 Gbps. While obviously still asymmetrical, that adds a little more bandwidth to let users contribute to meetings, show symptoms to their doctors or play the most advanced online games. DOCSIS 4.0’s adoption has been patchy since it came out in 2017 -– but that’s beginning to change. A recent ATX survey found that 70% of cable providers plan to implement the new standards before 2026 ends.
The branching path of cable standards upgrades
If DOCSIS 4.0 was a monolith and every company was making the whole switch at once, the future of cable standards would be very clear, and this would be a much shorter article. But no: There are options, and lots of them!
Those companies that are fully transitioning have two basic options. One is full duplex, which uses the same spectrum for upstream data that it does for downstream. It operates at 1.2 GHz, a range that 32% of companies predict will be the top of their spectrum use, and Comcast has become a major proponent.
In the other DOCSIS 4.0 model, extended spectrum, operators can speed up service by sticking on extra spectrum, with an upper limit of 1.8 GHz. Charter Communications and Cox Communications are likely to pick this version, as are 28% of providers overall in the ATX survey.
Other companies plan more gradual moves. Some will add mid- or high-split technology to their existing DOCSIS 3.1 networks or turn to “extended” DOCSIS 3.1, a model that pairs 4.0 modems with 3.1 termination systems to increase speeds without adding spectrum. Companies could also start investing more in fiber-to-the-premises networks.
They could also go experimental, potentially combining 4 GHz or 5 GHz spectrum with hybrid fiber-coaxial networks and 5G signals or boosting the DOCSIS spectrum limit to 3 GHz, which could be a step toward DOCSIS 5.0 or 4.1. For those trying to reach more people without fiber, Air Wireless reports producing DOCSIS 3.1 results over up to 10 miles, potentially letting cable companies explore new markets or establish backup connectivity.
Seeing the future
I wish. I’d be sitting on a beach with a pina colada somewhere if I could do that, rather than writing this article. That said, it’s pretty clear that new cable standards have become increasingly important as bandwidth needs expand, and cable providers, even those who have been dragging their feet, have to respond. We’ll have to wait and see what that response looks like.
____________________________________
Take advantage of SmartBrief’s FREE email newsletters on connectivity and the cable industry, among the company’s more than 250 industry-focused newsletters.