XXX XXXXX PETER CARLSSON EXTENDING FIBRE WITHCOAX
based on a proprietary technology and some large customers were concerned about future roadmaps and lack of vendors from which to choose. This was the background for InCoax joining MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) and then leading the development of the MoCA Access 2.5 standard which was released last year. This is the first standard developed by MoCA for an access use case, supporting point to multipoint, i.e. suitable for MDUs. In:xtnd, which we launched at ANGA this year, is based on the MoCA Access technology standard and is targeting all operators that wish to use the existing coax. With In:xtnd we have a product generation meeting the bandwidth requirements of operators at a very competitive cost. In addition, customers can rest assured of technology development as MoCA is continuously building next generation technology standards. OC: How would you characterise the business case for InCoax’s product line? PC: Traditional cable companies are rapidly migrating to become broadband operators as a consequence to the rapid conversion from analogue TV to Over-the-Top TV. In:xtnd can coexist with existing Cable TV and Satellite TV installations. This means that an operator can keep their current Cable TV offering and upgrade their broadband capabilities and offerings with our solution in a very cost efficient and easy way. We have a lot of customer interest for this use case. The other main use case is operators who want to access MDUs for fibre access extension, to avoid the costs and difficulties of providing FTTH to each single apartment. In:xtnd is just 20 percent of the cost of FTTH and 40 percent of the cost of a DOCSIS 3.1 upgrade, which is very compelling and very attractive to our customers because we can dramatically reduce their CAPEX without sacrificing performance or reliability. In addition to purchase price, it is the ease and costs of installation, configuration and management of In:xtnd which provides operational cost (OPEX) benefits as there is no need to enter an apartment or probe the wires. And of course, there is the performance at 2.5 Gbps download and 2 Gbps upload, with very low latency. We also have our roadmap based on the future development of MoCA Access that will deliver 10 Gbps actual data rates per coaxial port. Plus, In:xtnd is a point to multipoint solution which allows for the connection of up to 31 Access modems per channel, expanding reach and distribution without having to reconfigure topologies. Our In:xtnd Control, the central unit of our system, has 4 coaxial ports, each with a performance of 2.5 Gbps, providing a total of 10 Gbps. Basically we reduce cost and enhance performance and
Many telcos are going FTTH to maintain performance parity with their cable counterparts and DOCSIS.
our solutions based on a reliable global standard, MoCA Access 2.5, which is generally what operators and integrators prefer. OC: Are there any bandwidth issues with using coax? PC: We hear from the major chipset vendors that coax could have future bandwidth capabilities of 100 Gbps, so in the near future there are effectively no limitations. Our current generation product is capable of 2.5 Gbps and MoCA 3.0 for access will be capable of 10Gbps and MoCA 3.0 for home networking at 10 Gbps has been finalised. I think it is essential that MoCA has a roadmap going forward, some of the larger operators work with a 10 to 15-year technology strategy and to be relevant, we need to show that we will be relevant, not just today but also many years from now. Operators are seeing a growing demand for bandwidth with the ongoing and increased adoption of over the top video services. The demand for bandwidth is really insatiable and with that comes the need for greater reliability. Coax has those inherent advantages native to the medium. OC: Which geographies are showing the most demand? PC: InCoax is primarily focussed on Europe for now, but we are generating operator interest in the U.S., Canada and many countries in Asia and Africa. We are also receiving a lot of interest from resorts and hotels around the world. We have a program in place to establish partnerships with resellers, integrators and OEMs to better serve those different geographies and opportunities. OC: Why do you think some regional greenfield FTTH operators are choosing to rewire premises instead of using existing in-building infrastructure and how do you think you might convince them that the InCoax approach is the way to go? PC: First of all, In:xtnd is a brand new solution, not yet known. So we need to make operators aware of our solution and that it has a future proof roadmap. Many telcos are going FTTH to maintain performance parity with their cable counterparts who are using DOCSIS, but fibre by definition is an overbuild deployment, with ROI somewhat uncertain despite the best and most extensive analysis. Thus, in a greenfield scenario, the motivation
for FFTH becomes “keeping up with the competition while offering 1 Gbps bandwidth or better in order to sell more services. This is not unreasonable, but it is expensive. For an FTTH provider aiming to connect say 25,000 subscribers, the cost delta for FTTH will be around €400 per subscriber, which comes to €10 million in total. If you have 100,000 subscribers, you save €40 million. On the other hand, large fibre operators, unlike their telco counterparts, don’t have the legacy wiring or mindset and are free to implement fibre. FTTH is an expensive proposition no matter how you look at it, so we can cost-effectively help implement fibre in MDUs for instance where fibre to each unit is cost prohibitive. However, cable companies enjoy both a cost and a performance advantage. DOCSIS and the use of coax, or even “fibre deep” is not an overbuild scenario and the performance can be ramped without touching the coaxial cabling. That said, DOCSIS 3.1 may prove prohibitively expensive for middle and smaller tier cable MSOs. It is not cost- effective for smaller MDU environments and there is no performance advantage over MoCA Access. This is also a market segment for us. Basically, we are helping to keep costs under control without sacrificing performance. OC: What is InCoax’s product roadmap going forward? PC: During ANGA, we launched In:xtnd Control and the In:xtnd Access, which is a two-port ethernet modem. We have more products based on MoCA Access 2.5 in our development road- map. We are very active inside MoCA and are developing the next generation of standard supporting 10 Gbps, MoCA Access 3.0, available in about a year, so operators have assurance of a technology roadmap with products supporting 10 Gbps in a few years. OC: How would you sum up the key points of InCoax’ offering? PC: Broadband providers get a solution that is very easy to deploy for MDU’s, there’s no need for new cables and no need to enter apartments. They get easy installation, configuration and management which enables operators the ability to offer subscribers the same level of gigabit services as FTTH. Plus, they can do this at only 20 percent of the cost of FTTH and in the case of a cable operator, just 40 percent of the cost of upgrading to DOCSIS 3.1.
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ISSUE 14 | Q3 2018
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