Fiber

Quantum-Proof Security in a Post-Quantum Era: QKD in Fiber Networks
March 2, 2026
As fiber networks continue to evolve to meet the demands of next-generation connectivity, a new data security issue has emerged. The security of modern cryptographic systems relies on the computational complexity of intractable mathematical problems, for which it takes an impractically long time to solve using classical computers. Take two key exchange algorithms as examples. […]

Fiber: Laying the Groundwork for the Experience and Adaptive Eras
December 18, 2025
For years, the broadband industry’s innovative energy focused on speed: faster downloads, higher throughput, more gigabits per second. But as online activity has been woven more deeply into the fabric of daily life, user expectations have shifted. Today’s success metrics place less emphasis on speed and more on quality, reliability and seamless experiences that adapt […]

Thinking Outside the Box: Serving MTUs With Fiber
November 14, 2025
When we chartered the FTTP Operators Forum, our goal was to create a space where technology experts, engineers, business leaders and operations professionals could share real-world insights, compare strategies and discuss fiber to the premises (FTTP) challenges. The goal is simple: promote industry collaboration and accelerate progress toward more interoperable, efficient fiber networks. In our […]
Future-Proofing Optical Networks: Streamlining Operations for a Smooth Transition to PON
March 7, 2024
Imagine you’re a network engineer trying to manage the capacity of your DOCSIS networks — and suddenly you’re tasked with learning a whole new set of additional tools, techniques and terminologies to manage a new type of access network: a passive optical network (PON). Now apply that complexity to the entire operations, the many involved […]
SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2023 Celebrates 40 Years of Cable Industry Innovation
October 5, 2023
The future of connectivity is being built today. As new solutions enter the market and industry leaders leverage emerging technologies and 10G breakthroughs, the cable industry is making a difference with powerful capabilities that reach into nearly every home. The best place to experience these advancements in one place is in person at SCTE® Cable-Tec […]

Coherent Optics 101: Coming at You at 0.69c
November 23, 2020
Welcome back to the CableLabs 101 series! In our previous post, we discussed the basic components of a typical hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) cable network infrastructure and the role of DOCSIS® technology in data transmission over the coaxial portion of the network. Today, we’ll focus on the fiber portion of the HFC network, as well as […]

A Fiber-Rich Cable Network: What Does It Really Mean?
September 25, 2020
Cable networks are fiber-rich, and cable operators have long invested in deploying more fiber deeper into their networks. A fiber-rich environment enables greater capacity, increased speeds and more flexibility to support a range of access technologies. Although cable broadband networks are typically composed of both fiber optic and coaxial cables, most cable customers are surprised […]

DOCSIS® Network vs. Fiber Backhaul for Outdoor Small Cells: How Larger Footprint of DOCSIS Networks Lowers TCO in the Outdoor Use Case
January 31, 2019
In our recent blog post, we talked about how, from a total cost of ownership (TCO) perspective, DOCSIS networks triumph as either backhaul or fronthaul over traditional fiber backhaul for the indoor use case. In this blog, we bring that TCO analysis to a more intuitive, outdoor use case: a head-to-head comparison between TCO of […]

TCO of DOCSIS® Network XHaul vs. Fiber BackHaul: How DOCSIS Networks Triumph in the Indoor Use Case
December 12, 2018
In our recently published blog post, we demonstrated why indoor femtocells have reemerged as an attractive deployment model. In particular, indoor network densification has huge potential for converged cable/wireless operators who can leverage their existing Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) footprint to either backhaul from full-stack femtocells or fronthaul from virtual Radio Access Network (vRAN) remote […]

Inform[ED] Video: Full Duplex Coherent Optics over Fiber Networks
March 15, 2018
Last week, CableLabs Distinguished Technologist Steve Jia posted a blog “Doubling up on Fiber Capacity: A Winning Strategy for Full Duplex Coherent Optics.” In that blog, Steve describes how the CableLabs Full Duplex Coherent Optics innovation doubles the bi-directional capacity of each cable access network fiber, multiplies the capacity of each existing access network fiber […]