Cable ops discuss network evolution

ANGA Cable – Cologne. ANGA’s technical director Carsten Engelke presented the Redesign research project to extend the the lifetime of Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks. Prior to the ANGA, 14 experts from European cable operators met with the ReDeSign Consortium to discuss the technological evolution of their networks.

The initial findings of the ReDeSign survey that was carried out among European cable operators during spring 2008 were presented to the participants. The cable operators attending the meeting gave guidance to the project on how to align the work of the project with the needs of the industry, such as the more effective use of available bandwidth.

As a consequence, ReDeSign will focus on the creation of ‘Implementation Guidelines’ for cable operators developing the operational aspects of the new DVB-C2 transmission technology. An important common view was that digital packages and digital set-top boxes per household will increase significantly in the next five years. For longer-term technical solutions, the development of migration scenarios enabling cable operators to smoothly migrate from today’s HFC

Summarising, Thomas Braun, President of ANGA, said: “We see a tremendous increase in broadband competition in the years to come. It is therefore essential for cable operators to fully exploit the capabilities of their Hybrid Fibre Coax networks.” He emphasised that the Redesiign initiative provides an excellent opportunity for cable operators to discuss and to learn more about possible technical solutions for the future.