The State of the Art and Evolution of Cable Television and Broadband

Technology

Andrew Afflerbach, Ph.D., P.E.

CEO and Director of Engineering

CTC Technology & Energy

October 8, 2013

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Report Outline

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Evolution of underlying infrastructure DOCSIS and PON over Coax Internet protocol (IP) migration and convergence

Evolution of applications and video content presentation

Evolution of video production

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Summary of Findings

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Cable the primary access to residential and business broadband for foreseeable future for most of U.S.

Hybrid fiber/coax has significant limitations relative to fully fiber optic networks

Rapid increases in demand Over-the-top video, gaming, streaming media

Cable operators seek to keep up while limiting capital expenditures Electronics, processes, software

Cost-effective approaches for PEG production and needs in cable franchise

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Limitations of Coaxial Cable Current coaxial cable systems limited to 1 GHz

bandwidth In practice 750-860 MHz due to electronics Typical data speeds low hundreds Mbps for premium users Typical data speeds tens of Mbps Scalable by adding fiber and upgrading electronics

(limited) Single strand of fiber 10,000 GHz bandwidth

Typical backbone speeds hundreds of Gbps Typical access network speeds

Bidirectional 1 Gbps (active Ethernet) Tens to hundreds of Mbps (PON) (depending on service)

Scalable with faster electronics Cable industry strategy is to add fiber incrementally

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Evolution of Underlying InfrastructureFrom DOCSIS 3.0 to 3.1 and beyond

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Data over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) – Cable modem standard

DOCSIS 1.0 cable modem introduced by industry in late-1990s to increase standardization and reduce costs

Counterpart to Ethernet and WiFi Later versions increased speed, security and

functionality DOCSIS 3.0 now standard (many 2.0 still in use)

bonds multiple cable channels

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Evolution of Underlying InfrastructureToday’s Cable-TV infrastructure

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Evolution of Underlying InfrastructureDOCSIS 3.1

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To be introduced in 2014-2015 Bonds 200 MHz channels 5 to 10 Gbps shared by neighborhood

100/25 Mbps average with appropriate planning and segmentation

Requires new modems and hub electronics Would benefit from reallocation of upstream

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Evolution of Underlying InfrastructureEthernet PON over Coax (EPOC) and beyond

Reuters

Replace DOCSIS with “Fiber PON” type equipment Comparable to Verizon FiOS but with RF coaxial

interfaces Economy of scale with FTTP providers Optimized for IP Ethernet Virtual dedicated connections for each home Can coexist with non-EPOC use 10 Gbps per node area – 100/25 Mbps average per user

Faster speeds require outside plant work Deeper fiber More coaxial capacity (> 1 GHz) (drops) Higher modulation signals (1024 and 4096-QAM) (drops)

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IP ConvergenceToward an Internet-Based Approach Current system divides channel spectrum

Television channels (fixed digital QAM channels) Video-on-demand (servers connected to digital

QAM channels) Data/cable modem channels Assignment is “nailed down”

Evolving “CCAP” approach Unified headend equipment for video, data More flexibility to reassign channels Evolution path to putting VoD on IP in future Reduces cost and complexity Currently being introduced

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Evolution of Underlying InfrastructureConverged Cable Access Platform (CCAP)

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Evolution of Underlying InfrastructureConverged Cable Access Platform (CCAP)

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Other Evolution of Infrastructure to IP IPv6 introduction

Large global address space (no need for NAT) Like migrating from extension (216-555-0000 ext

1234) to direct dial (216-555-1234) Benefits interactive video, games, embedded

devices Being introduced by Comcast– “dual stack”

Moving VoD to IP Greater centralization Comcast and over-the-top on same set top

converter Set top converter with open apps (X1 and X2)

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Evolution of Infrastructure to IP Current Internet media mostly unicast

(separate copy for each viewer

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Evolution of Infrastructure to IP Multicast networks carry single copy of a

program viewed by multiple people Critical for migrating “television” to IP

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Other Evolution of Cable-Related Infrastructure Migration from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4

Standard used in Blu-ray and FiOS HDTV Double compression ratio

Migration to H.265 Better quality video than MPEG-4 at half the bit

rate Facilitate use of UHDTV 4K and 8K – 60 degree

field of view 4K in 2014 in cable trials

No clear path to open cable set top boxes

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Estimated Development Timeline

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Usage of Cable SystemOperator Content vs. Over-the-Top (OTT) Rapid growth of OTT to $15 billion in 2016 Google Chromecast, Roku, Apple TV, XBox growing

device and software ecosystem Comcast and operators hosting content locally

(Akamai) to manage backbone bandwidth OTT challenges capacity in access layer

(oversubscription) Cable operator has full control over delivery of OTT

Can prioritize traffic Can determine amount of available backbone or access

Internet traffic Can establish data caps Neutrality issue

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Integration of Wireless Comcast outdoor WiFi in several metropolitan

areas Many options for working with wireless service

providers Fiber mobile backhaul to cell sites/antennas Cable content on LTE network (eMBS) Picocells on cable modems

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Integration of Wireless

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Evolution of Video Production Typical full studio equipment costs $500,000

to $1,500,000 -- $3 to $5 million over 15 years Falling costs and improving technology create

more options outside studio remote controlled cameras and pre-wired facilities virtual sets portable production equipment network connectivity – fiber and wireless

Need for trained staff continues Need for storage

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New approaches to local programming HDTV now expected by viewers VoD well-suited to PEG High bandwidth network

Remote origination Centralized storage/production/switching Shared staff

Social media integration Access to electronic programming guide Training public – who can generate content at home

and at the studio Interaction through Skype, Google Hangouts Enhanced portable video production equipment that

minimizes time and staff need and operating costs

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Conclusion Cable systems sit in the middle of the

broadband ecosystem Rapid growth of bandwidth demand pushes

limits of cable technology Cable industry using incremental model to

meet demand with existing infrastructure All data, video media moving toward

converged IP Significant wireless/cable synergy Rich opportunities for PEG – need network

connectivity, training, VoD, HDTV, programming guide placement