Magazine Sections :: Columns :: Communications Technology

Broadband: Finding Spectrum for Channel Bonding

Tue, 1 Jul 2008 0:00:00 EDT

The latest iteration of Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification - DOCSIS 3.0 - has been in the news recently. Several cable modem termination systems (CMTSs) and cable modems have received qualification and certification respectively from CableLabs, and pre-DOCSIS 3.0 channel bonding deployments have...

Editor's Letter: Congrats, Time Warner

Tue, 1 Jul 2008 0:00:00 EDT

Our search for excellence in engineering and technical operations this year led us to four systems: CoxCommunications, Greater Louisiana; Insight Communications, Kentucky; Suddenlink Communications, West Texas; and Time Warner Cable, Carolina Region. This month we focus on the Time Warner Carolina, which...

Reality Check: Flavors of PONs

Tue, 1 Jul 2008 0:00:00 EDT

This article describes the different types of passive optical networks (PONs) and what they do. A PON is an optical network from the headend all the way to the home. It implies a shared network, usually with passive optical splitting in the field. Several standards for PONs exist. We can classify PONs by the...

Bullpen: DTV Transition: 8-VSB + QAM = Win/Win

Tue, 1 Jul 2008 0:00:00 EDT

Editor's note: For various reasons, the authors of this piece would prefer to go unnamed. They are, however, respected cable engineers, one for a major MSO and the other for a vendor. Putting a couple of freethinking engineers in front of a white board can be dangerous. What emerged from one such recent...

Broadband: The Mathematics of Field Strength Measurements

Sun, 1 Jun 2008 0:00:00 EDT

In July 1991, I penned an article with the same title as this month's column. It was inspired by a call from friend and colleague Ralph Haimowitz, who commented that he had seen a recent paper discussing, among other things, the conversion between microvolts (µV) and microvolts per meter (µV/m)...

Editor's Letter: The OSS Factor

Sun, 1 Jun 2008 0:00:00 EDT

A brief adventure into business school a decade ago helped acquaint me with buzzwords surrounding corporate models that were expected to drive what was then called the New Economy. Some of that jargon went the way of the burst bubble. Some didn't. The expectation that successful companies, for instance...

Reality Check: Whatever Happened to DCAS?

Sun, 1 Jun 2008 0:00:00 EDT

Downloadable conditional access system (DCAS) technology has garnered great interest since 2000. Its deployment, however, has shifted outward. Two and a half years ago, industry leaders told the Federal Communications Commission to expect a nationwide rollout by July 1, 2008. Then, in requesting a waiver on...

Bullpen: From Broadcast to Unicast

Sun, 1 Jun 2008 0:00:00 EDT

In my last column, I argued that one network is better than two for video delivery. In this column, I want to talk about the mode of delivery of video services. Of course, the original delivery mode was broadcast, and cable networks can trace their roots to coaxial-based video distribution systems. However...

Broadband: Grounding Effectiveness at RF

Thu, 1 May 2008 0:00:00 EDT

Various codes such as the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) and National Electrical Code (NEC) - which are often adopted into law by local, county or state governments - mandate grounding and bonding of cable networks. The fundamental purpose of grounding and/or bonding is safety of people and...

Editor's Letter: Oprah, CDNs and Data Priests

Thu, 1 May 2008 0:00:00 EDT

Editors are naturally disposed to the truism that content is king - or queen or president. Those notions came to mind after listening to an episode of the CableFAX Show posted on our Cable360.net Web site in January. Colleagues Seth Arenstein and Michael Grebb were discussing the deal struck between...