Cable operators globally recognize that tight networks simply work better, and signal leakage is the best way to detect, find, and fix the shielding weaknesses which let undesirable upstream ingress into networks. Leakage monitoring has adapted with the evolving HFC to remain feasible and maximize effectiveness, but the migration to a 204MHz upstream with high-split networks […]
Tag Archives Network Integrity
Leakage Uses Changing The first half of 2020 has certainly seen significant changes in the world around us, including how customers receive and use the services carried over our networks. Bandwidth consumption (especially the upstream) have skyrocketed with the pivots to eLearning and working from home, as has the criticality of the services that we […]
Make The Connection – How Your HFC Tools Can Work Harder For You The people who monitor and maintain HFC networks have an impressive if not overwhelming number of tools available to them today. Some of these tools like upstream spectrum analyzers and plant leakage systems have been around since the early days of […]
Tag – You’re It! Signal Tags and Their Use in Cable Signal Leakage Detection Cable signal leakage technologies have been around for more than three decades, and while the underlying concept of detecting CATV signals leaking out of the network has not changed, the technologies to accomplish this have changed considerably. Shortly after the first […]
Change Ahead – How Network Maintenance Practices Are Evolving With The Rapidly-Changing HFC The recent pace of change in HFC networks has been dizzying compared to our previous gradual evolutionary path, but fortunately plant maintenance practices including plant leakage detection have evolved to stay ahead of the curve. The rapid expansion of FTTH offerings combined […]
Tune In – Antennas are the Eyes and Ears of Signal Leakage Systems Despite huge improvements in computing power available to design tools and simulations, RF antenna design remains at least somewhat of a black art. The best antenna designers are often brilliant Engineers, but most will admit that past experience and quite frankly luck […]
Why Signal Leakage, Why Now? Ingress has been the single largest thorn in the side of cable operators since the advent of CATV plants, only to be aggravated by the introduction of two-way services. Despite decades of innovation, the silver bullet solution to fully address this problem remains elusive. Why Ingress Is Such a Challenge: […]
The HFC Evolves Through the years, with the demand for additional speed and bandwidth cable systems have: Migrated from analog channels to 6 MHz SC QAM channels Migrated from modulation schemes from 16 QAM up to 256 QAM channels Migrated to DOCSIS 3.1 OFDM carriers consuming much larger areas of the spectrum Began migrating from […]
The Early Days of CLI Leakage The new regulations required the operator to monitor, measure with a specific technique, and log all system leakage. The operators soon realized that this was a difficult task with their current equipment, as signal level meters had insufficient sensitivity to measure 20 uV/m at even 10ft, much less be […]
Signal Leakage in Cable Networks, a Long and Winding Road Cable is a unique communications medium that has evolved from a rudimentary patchwork of transmission lines and components devised by an industrious group of technology pioneers decades ago into the leading broadband juggernaut that it is today. The remnants of this journey are still evident […]