TECHNICAL
2. Around the Globe
Electricity costs can vary even more around the world than they do in the US. Let’s look at some countries that have HFC networks.
Most Expensive Countries
US$ / kWh $0.36 $0.33 $0.30 $0.27 $0.27 $0.26 $0.26 $0.26 US$ / kWh $0.09 $0.08 $0.08 $0.08 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.05 $0.03 $0.01
Germany Denmark Belgium Portugal
Source: Toner Cable
Source: Universal Battery
HOW MANY NODES OR AMPLIFIERS ARE REQUIRED? What are typical system sizes? If we start with the number of homes per node in a typical system, we can arrive at estimates for varying system sizes. For our example, we will use a 100,000-home-passed network, but will provide per-home costs that can be extended for larger or smaller systems.
Monitoring discussion and cost
Ireland Japan
Because replacing batteries strictly on a time-in-service basis can be costly, most systems employ status monitoring equipment that can remotely test the batteries and determine when each requires replacement. Status monitoring equipment adds a bit to the cost of a power supply, but operationally someone must manage the database of supplies and monitor the data within the status monitoring system. We will assume monitoring would pay for itself versus time-in-service battery replacement.
United Kingdom
Italy
Least Expensive Countries
Turkey
India
Mexico
China
What are typical HFC network architectures?
Nigeria
Argentina
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Qatar
Iran
Source: September 2020 – GPP- ©Statista 2021
What do standby power batteries cost? Typical CATV power supplies contain three or six batteries. Capacity specifications for these batteries are typically around 100Ah. They must operate in an uncontrolled environment and be capable of deep cycles. Batteries can be expected to last about four years. These are specialty batteries, which are similar to an auto battery but emphasises continuous run time rather than “cold cranking amps”. Each battery can cost between $100 and $200, so this replacement effort can get expensive. Just initially installing batteries for the 500-plus power supplies in a 100,000-home system could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The battery replacement effort itself requires a truck roll and up to an hour on-site for the operation.
1. Node + 6 System
In a conventional node + 6 system (500 homes per node), one node might feed an average of 38 amplifiers. Let us assume that eight of the amplifiers are trunk/bridger units and 30 are line extenders.
Note: diagram does not show all described items for clarity
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Volume 47 No.1 MARCH 2025
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