Introduction
Surfing the World Wide Web typically of-
fers residential Internet users a click-and-
wait experience rather than an interactive
extravaganza. Because connection speeds are
typically limited to 53 kbit/s or less, frus-
trated residential online users are demand-
ing higher-speed connections. However, in
spite of the slow narrowband speeds cur-
rently available through existing dial-up
telephone modem connections, residential
Internet and online usage continues to grow
rapidly.
Local service providers currently offer res-
idential ISDN services that provide connec-
tion speeds up to 128 kbit/s. To offer down-
stream speeds in excess of 1.5 Mbit/s, ser-
vice providers will have to look to alterna-
tive solutions, such as digital subscriber line
(DSL) technologies, faster downstream data
connections from direct broadcast satellite
(DBS), fixed wireless access, and high-speed
cable modems.
Broadband coaxial cable passes by more
than 105 million homes in North America,
and more than 75 million of these subscribe
to cable TV. Coaxial cable connections offer
nearly universal coverage and a powerful
platform for providing high-speed data ac-
cess to residences and small businesses.
However, to support advanced communica-
tions services, one-way cable television sys-
tems must be upgraded into modern two-
way networks. This is a technically complex
and capital-intensive proposition.
Cable systems were originally designed to
deliver broadcast television signals effi-
ciently to subscribers’ homes. To ensure that
consumers obtain cable service via the same
TV sets with which they receive over-the-
air broadcast TV signals, cable operators
recreate a portion of the over-the-air radio
frequency (RF) spectrum within a sealed
coaxial cable line or CATV network de-
signed and used for cable TV distribution.
The system must be upgraded with
bidirectional amplifiers in the cable-
distribution or CATV network before sig-
nals can flow in two directions. Most CATV
networks are a hybrid of fiber and coaxial ca-
bles. Signals are passed through fiberoptic
cables from the head-end center to locations
near the subscriber. The signals are then
transmitted in coaxial cables that run to the
subscriber premises. Higher-frequency sig-
nals flow toward the subscriber and lower-
frequency signals flow toward the broad-
casting head-end.
Cable plant architecture
Several elements are required to bring high-
speed data over cable (Figure 1). A cable
plant consists of a hub or ring of hubs. In a
typical cable plant, one or more of these hub
facilities serve as the collection points. The
head-end hub gathers television signals
from various sources—primarily satellite
TV transponders. The TV signals are picked
up, decoded, and down-converted to select-
ed channels. These channels are then com-
bined into a local fiberoptic network for
local distribution or placed on a higher-
capacity optical network between the re-
gional hubs. One or more of these hubs also
serve as the main interface to the Internet
and are tied to it via high-speed optical
links.
Each hub has a head-end that uses small-
er fiber bundles to distribute the television
32
Ericsson Review No. 1, 2001
Cable modems—Broadband highway to the home
Juan Figueroa and Bill Guzek
Cable operators are eyeing a huge business opportunity in providing resi-
dential customers with high-speed Internet access. The market for cable
modems is expected to increase dramatically over the next few years.
This increase will be the result of rising user demands for access to the
services and capabilities made possible by greater speed, such as high-
quality voice, video on demand, and a variety of entertainment services.
The authors describe the technology of using cable plants to bring
high-speed Internet access into the home.
ADC Analog-to-digital converter
ARP Address resolution protocol
ATM Asynchronous transfer mode
BER Bit error rate
BPI Baseline privacy
Cable net- Refers to the cable television plant
work that would typically be used for
data-over-cable services.
CATV Cable TV
CM Cable modem
CMCI Cable modem-to-CPE interface
CMTS Cable modem termination system
CPE Customer premises equipment
DBS Direct broadcast satellite
DHCP Dynamic host configuration protocol
DOCSIS Data-over-cable service interface
specification
DSL Digital subscriber line
DSP Digital signal processor
FEC Forward error correction
Head-end Central distribution point for a CATV
system
HFC Hybrid fiber-coaxial
ICMP Internet control message protocol
IEEE Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers
IF Intermediate frequency
IP Internet protocol
ISDN Integrated service digital network
ISP Internet service provider
LAN Local area network
LLC Logical link control
MAC Media access control
MCNS Multimedia Cable Network System
Partners Ltd.
MSO Multiservice operator
NAT Network address translation
NSI Network-side interface
OSI Open systems interconnection
PC Personal computer
PDU Packet data unit
QAM Quadrature amplitude modulation
QoS Quality of service
QPSK Quadrature phase-shift keying
RF Radio frequency
RFC Request for comments
RFI RF interface
RISC Reduced instruction set computing
SID Service ID
SNAP Subnetwork access protocol
SNMP Simple network management protocol
SU Subscriber unit
TFTP Trivial file transfer protocol
UDP User datagram protocol
USB Universal serial bus
VoIP Voice over IP
BOX A, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
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