October 22, 2013, Amsterdam – At Broadband World Forum 2013 in Amsterdam, InCoax Networks, a leading provider of IP over Coax solutions, will introduce its next generation Coax Link Controller, which is the Fibre Extension over the existing coaxial cabling inside apartment buildings. With the progress of Connected-TV and OTT services, IP over Coax is an obvious access alternative.

The new Coax Link Controller can provide up to 1,4 Gbps over the in-building coaxial network and is a cost-effective and competitive solution that makes it possible for operators to ensure network capacity and quality of service for all network subscribers. Depending on modem type, individual subscribers can achieve up to 350Mbps broadband speeds, meeting the growing demand for streaming Connecting-TV and OTT video services. Today, subscribers need very high bandwidth with fibre type connections to their homes, which support symmetrical services for content delivery and interactive gaming.

Helge Tiainen, Product Marketing Manager at InCoax Networks, says: “Bringing fibre connections to individual homes would solve the bandwidth problem, but this is far too expensive to be economically viable in older apartment buildings throughout Europe. With InCoax’s next generation Coax Link Controller, operators can bring high-speed connections to customers by utilising the existing coaxial cabling inside apartment buildings — at a considerably lower cost compared to using fibre all the way and with the ability to guarantee sufficient connection speeds for all subscribers.”

The InCoax Coax Link Controller is an access network node that makes it possible to deliver signals from fibre networks to individual subscribers via existing coaxial cabling. As the only European manufacturer of this technology, InCoax utilises Entropic's c.LINK Ethernet over Coax MoCA chipset solution, which allows Coax Link Controller to support broadband speeds up to 1,4 Gbps over 8 RF-channels downstream and upstream. Depending on modem design, two RF-channels can be combined and a maximum speed of 350 Mbps can be achieved to individual subscribers. The Coax Link Controller is designed with a network processor capable of handling up to 10Gbps so several Coax Link Controllers can be connected to the in-coming fibre of an apartment building.

Cable-TV uses a spectrum up to 862 MHz. InCoax IP over Coax technology utilises the free spectrum above that, between 950 MHz to 1525MHz. Data services can thus co-exist with existing TV content. The higher spectrum is generally no problem as most in-building coax networks can handle this. Older networks have been refurbished during the transition from analogue to digital TV. Coaxial cables can transport signals up to 2400 MHz with acceptable cable attenuation within in-building cable lengths. In many cases, though, splitters and taps have to be replaced to support up to 2400 MHz, at a minor cost.

With the latest MoCA 1.1 access technology it is possible to provide up to 175 Mbps capacity per RF channel. This provides each subscriber with 100 Mbps surf capacity, and up to 3 HD IPTV channels. On average there are 2,7 TV-sets per apartment in Europe. Coaxial cables are very robust against external interference due to its shielding. These cables are, in opposite to phone lines, always available in the building, either in the basement or in the loft.

InCoax Networks will showcase the Coax Link Controller on Booth A21 throughout Broadband World Forum. Please feel free to drop by the stand, or alternately contact Helge Tiainen at [email protected] to arrange a one-to-one meeting.