Vecima is prepping for the wave of DOCSIS 4.0 deployments, announcing Thursday its two new 1.8 GHz Remote-PHY and Remote-MACPHY nodes are now fully available on the market.
Coined as “Forever Nodes,” they are designed to support existing distributed access architecture (DAA) as well as future technologies like DOCSIS 4.0 and remote optical line terminal (OLT) applications.
The nodes come in two flavors, the EN8400 and SC-2D4, each having “different form factors and can be used to support different use cases,” according to Dell’Oro Group VP Jeff Heynen.
“I believe the SC has been used more for remote OLT configurations, for example,” he told Fierce.
Vecima noted the EN8400 supports DOCSIS 3.1 Remote PHY, whereas SC-2D4 is tailored for Remote MACPHY in the 3.1 system.
Remote-PHY and Remote MACPHY are the two main DAA variants. The former digitizes the network all the way to the node, while Remote MACPHY virtualizes the converged cable access platform (CCAP) core.
Ryan Nicometo, SVP and general manager of Vecima’s Video and Broadband Solutions segment, stated the Forever Nodes are “reducing risk for our customers by providing a seamless and cost-effective path to whatever is next for them: Remote PHY, Remote MACPHY, DOCSIS 4.0, 10G PON, or beyond.”
“As Cable Access networks evolve to DOCSIS 4.0 and eventually migrate to Fiber Access, an investment-protection strategy is extremely important to our customers,” he said.
Vecima joins the fray of cable vendors pushing out DOCSIS 4.0-compatible technology. Last week, ATX Networks unveiled its own 1.8 GHz node, which is designed as a successor to Cisco’s discontinued GS7000 platform.
The difference between the ATX and Vecima nodes, Heynen explained, is the Vecima ones were created to address new deployments as well as serve as replacements of discontinued nodes.
ATX’s nodes, on the other hand, are extending the life of existing GS7000s that many operators already have in their networks.
“You can imagine a scenario where an operator would want to use both vendor’s nodes to replace outdated nodes, upgrade others, and deploy new nodes to reduce service group sizes and to address new service areas,” he said.
Charter Communications is one major operator leveraging Vecima tech for DOCSIS 4.0. Earlier this year, Charter struck a deal with Vecima to use its Entra Remote PHY system for a 10G network upgrade.
Building on their partnership, Vecima in September entered a warrant agreement with Charter, allowing the latter to purchase up to 361,050 of Vecima’s common shares through 2031.