Following a deep analysis of its next-generation network options, MCTV has opted to go with an ambitious fiber-to-the-premises deployment that will result in a GPON network that will overlay its existing hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) plant.

The initiative, branded by MCTV as “Excellerate,” will initially focus on speedy broadband services and will essentially sidestep a move to DOCSIS 3.1, the new gigabit-class technology for HFC networks. Altice USA is plowing ahead with a similar strategy in its Optimum footprint (the systems acquired from Cablevision Systems) and the bulk of the systems it acquired from Suddenlink Communications.

RELATED: Altice USA to Skip DOCSIS 3.1, Roll Out All-Fiber Network

MCTV’s plan is to overlay its entire network with a GPON-based fiber-to-the-premises network over the next two to three years. The Massillon, Ohio-based operator, which serves more than 47,000 homes and businesses, announced Monday that its Excellerate-powered network is currently available to residential customers in “select areas” in Stark and Wayne counties in the northeastern part of the state. MCTV said it will notify customers when the new offering is available in their neighborhoods.

MCTV presented its plans earlier today at a conference featuring MCTV president Robert Gessner; Jonathan McGee, president of the Ohio Cable Telecommunication Association; Matt Polka, president and CEO of the American Cable Association (ACA); and U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH).

MCTV estimates that the Excellerate project encompasses a $20 million investment that will factor in 1,400 miles of fiber, 79,920 miles of “glass,” 220,000 hours of manpower, 120,000 splices, 14,000 drop enclosures, and 14 communities.

“The crux of this is to build our next-generation network,” Gessner said.  

“Our plan is over next couple of years to overlay the entire system with PON…We’re betting on the ten-year plan rather than the three-to-five plan,” he added, noting that MCTV isn’t yet faced with a “pressing need” for the new PON overlay.

Though many cable operators, including Comcast, WideOpenWest, RCN and Mediacom Communications, are betting heavily on DOCSIS 3.1, MCTV’s analysis, Gessner said, showed that moving to FTTP made the most sense for the operator.

RELATED: Mediacom Launches 1-Gig Across Iowa Footprint

Gessner said MCTV, which has already been deploying a GPON FTTP in select rural greenfield scenarios, has some fairly large nodes on its HFC network, including some portions that had four to five amplifiers running between the last fiber-fed node and customer homes.

“To do DOCSIS 3.1 well, we’re going to have to run a lot of fiber,” Gessner explained. “It just seemed like that was the better option for us, given our situation.”

MCTV found that it would be no more expensive, or maybe just a little more expensive, to go with GPON and FTTP than it was to get to a node-plus-one HFC architecture.

Update: In an email, Gessner noted that the $20 million investment is the estimated cost to complete the network, including elements such as fiber construction, cabinets, splice enclosures and splicing, and does not include the cost of fiber drops and the customer premises equipment.  

Regarding which parts of the footprint are being targeted first, he added that the plan is to reach a variety of areas, including rural greenfields, suburban brownfields, city centers and overbuild scenarios. MCTV is also selecting areas based on how quickly the operator can design the area and where it wants to eliminate the bandwidth load on the HFC plant.

MCTV also has lots of fiber expertise to draw from.

In addition to its recent PON-based activity, MCTV has also been running some FTTP networks in some rural areas using RF-over-Glass an SCTE-standardized technology and platform that allows MSOs to run fiber to the premises while retaining it backoffice systems and use of DOCSIS modems for high-speed data and legacy set-top boxes for video.

“Internally, our staff is very familiar and comfortable with the idea of running and deploying fiber drops all the way to the home,” Kelly Rehm, the company’s tech ops manager, said, noting that MCTV has been actively cross-training its workforce to handle FTTP deployments.

MCTV, which is working with Adtran on the Excellerate initiative, also reasons that it will be able to keep many costs in check because it will keep the bulk of that work in-house, requiring only a small portion of the network construction to outside contractors.

Gessner said MCTV also has the benefit of deploying the new FTTP network at its own pace, as the company has already converted many employees over to handle elements such as mapping, splicing, construction and field engineering.

"It's really gratifying to see everyone accept the inventible change that is coming and to adopt new roles at the company,”  he said. “I’m really proud of our folks for putting their shoulder to the wheel and really accepting this huge project." 

And using an overlay network will also ensure that MCTV will be able to transition customers to the PON-based offering without disrupting service. “It’s an attractive reason for building a network like this,” Rehm said.

Additionally, in neighborhoods with heavy residential or business users, MSTV has the ability to transition them more rapidly to the PON network and relieve pressure on the legacy HFC plant, noted Nick Provost, MCTV’s outside plant manager.

Though MCTV’s FTTP network will be capable of delivering gigabit speeds, it will initially focus on a high-end offering that delivers symmetrical speeds of 100 Mbps while also matching its pricing for its DOCSIS-based high-speed internet services. Today, for example, MCTV sells a 100 Mbps down/5 Mbps up service for $89.95 per month when it’s purchased as a stand-alone.

MCTV will continue to deliver QAM-based video services on its HFC legacy network, even as it starts to consider a migration to IPTV much further down the road.  

“At this point, we are proceeding along a path that says the [HFC] system is working great for delivering television, so let’s keeping using it,” Gessner said.

For its limited FTTP deployments in greenfield scenarios, MCTV has been using an IPTV platform.

Troy Cable has tapped Adtran to power a fiber-to-the-premises network that will deliver symmetrical 1 Gbps broadband service to more than 40,000 homes in southeast Alabama.

The GPON-powered service will reach more than 20 communities, the operator said. 

When bundled with other services, Troy Cable is selling its symmetrical FTTP-based broadband tiers as follows:

-50 Mbps down/50 Mbps up: $52.95/month

-200/200: $65.95/month

-500/500: $99.99/month

-1 Gbps/1 Gbps: $199.99/month

Pricing on stand-alone FTTP service was not immediately available.

Update: Here is the stand-alone pricing: 

-50/50: $105.90/month

-200/200: $131.90/month

-500/500: $199.98/month

-1-Gig/1-Gig: $399.98/month

“Our customers expect the fastest internet connection possible for telecommuting, video streaming, gaming and more. Add to that the growing number of devices in each household, launching a Gigabit Internet Service offering was a logical next step. We have the fiber infrastructure in place and are delivering the fastest, most reliable Gigabit service available in Alabama,” said Jake Cowen, general manager of Troy Cable, in a statement

“As Troy Cable remains dedicated to enhancing the community’s broadband infrastructure, they’re changing the way customers look at cable companies,” said Mitch Fleming, regional vice president, sales, ADTRAN Carrier Networks Division. “Beyond offering standard cable services, Troy Cable is thinking long-term by offering its customers a complete portfolio of solutions,” added Mitch Fleming, regional VP of sales for Adran’s Carrier Networks Division. “They are taking broadband service offering to the next level, as well as finding a competitive differentiator in a demanding marketplace.”

China-based tech giant Huawei said it has landed a deal to support a 1-Gig service from Eastern Oregon Telecom (EOT) that will support more than 8,000 homes in Hermiston and the surrounding area, including Umatilla, Irrigon and Boardman.

The fiber-to-the-premises network will be based on GPON and layer in VoIP and IP-based TV services.

EOT expects to complete initial deployments in the second half of 2015, with underground fiber rollouts set for sometime in 2016.

“Huawei’s fast and scalable broadband solutions will allow for faster deployment and simpler maintenance, and we look forward to working with them to roll out our ultra-broadband network in Hermiston,” said Joseph Franell, CEO of EOT, in a statement.

“Super-fast, reliable and affordable broadband connectivity is becoming increasingly important in helping our community and businesses stay competitive,” added Hermiston Mayor Dr. David Drotzmann. “We are pleased that Eastern Oregon Telecom and Huawei have partnered to bring this service to the community, and believe better broadband will help us create more economic opportunities and educational enhancements in the City of Hermiston.” 

The deployment serves as a nice domestic win for Huawei, which has been a magnet of controversy in the U.S., including mistrust by the U.S. government. Last year, a report from Der Spiegel claimed that the National Security Agency had established “back doors” that linked it to telecom networks managed and maintained by Huawei. That report surfaced about 18 months after the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence recommended that U.S. telecom providers not work with Huawei and fellow China-based supplier ZTE over concerns that they could be national security threats.

On the cable front, Huawei and ZTE, the other China-based vendor that has drawn similar attention from the U.S. government,  have pushed ahead on the developed EPON equipment that applies DOCSIS-style provisioning. Last June, Huawei and ZTE were among an initial batch of vendors that obtained qualification for equipment that adheres to the CableLabs specs for DOCSIS Provisioning of EPON (DPoE).

Comcast confirmed that it has recently extended the reach of Extreme 505, a fiber-based broadband service that pumps out 505 Mbps downstream and 100 Mbps upstream, to several systems in its South Division, including Atlanta, Nashville, Jacksonville, and south Florida.

That follows the service’s initial launch in Comcast’s Northeast region in the fall of 2012, and more recently in select cities in its Central Division, including Chicago. Multichannel News reported in February that Comcast was in the process of bringing Extreme 505 to new makets.

Extreme 505 is a fiber-to-the-premises product that uses Metro Ethernet technology that Comcast typically uses to deliver business-class services. After starting off with a 305/65 residential speed offering, Comcast ramped it up to 505/100 last fall, presumably to keep pace with Verizon FiOS’s fastest residential broadband tier at the time, which was 500x100. Verizon has since moved ahead on an upstream upgrade plan that will enable it to deliver symmetrical speeds across all tiers, including 500/500 for its top-end offering. (A deeper analysis on Verizon's upgrade and its potential implication for the cable industry will be featured in the July 28 issue of Multichannel News.)

Comcast currently sells Extreme 505 for $399.95 per month (it tosses in its Constant Guard online security service for free), and requires that customers sign a three-year contract that is subject to an early termination fee.

Extreme 505 is considered a limited fiber-only option Comcast can offer as the cable industry develops DOCSIS 3.1, an emerging CableLabs-specified platform for the hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) network that is targeting capacities of 10 Gbps down and at least 1 Gbps upstream. Widespread deployments of DOCSIS 3.1 technology, which the cable industry will tout under the consumer brand of “Gigasphere,” is still a couple of years away.

Comcast’s current, fastest DOCSIS 3.0-based residential broadband tier supports downstream bursts up to 150 Mbps and upstream speeds up to 20 Mbps.

Verizon's new FiOS upgrades, which seemingly target the downstream-heavy, asymmetrical nature of cable’s DOCSIS platform, and the emerging threat of Google Fiber, is causing the business media to become more attuned to the industry’s relatively limited FTTP activity.

Comcast told The Wall Street Journal that the operator has begun to deploy FTTP in some new residential areas, telling the paper that the costs of building all-fiber networks from scratch are now “similar” to an HFC deployment. Among recent action, the operator has proposed to build an FTTP network for a 530-home neighborhood in Sun Valley, Fla., the paper reported.

Still, building FTTP networks for residential services represents a small part of the U.S. cable industry’s overall activity, and has largely been relegated to greenfields and new home developments where the builder requires service providers to go with an all-fiber network.

Earlier this year, for example, Bright House Networks signed up to build a 1-Gig-capable fiber network that will serve a new 6,000-home development in the Tampa area.

At the same time, CableLabs is working on technologies that will help cable operators use their existing DOCSIS backoffice and provisioning systems on FTTP networks. Following initial work that produced such specs for EPON networks, CableLabs is also developing a way to bring DOCSIS-style provisioning to GPON-based networks.

Also on the FTTP front, CableLabs is proposing to bring unity to those PON standards under a project called “OnePON,” and is looking to facilitate that discussion with the bodies that govern the EPON and GPON technical standards.

Aiming to replicate the work it’s already been doing with EPON, CableLabs has an interoperability initiative underway that will enable cable operators to use DOCSIS-style provisioning on GPON networks.

Those specs, to be called DOCSIS Provisioning of GPON, or DPoG, are currently in the draft/review phase, a CableLabs spokeswoman said via email. “CableLabs anticipates releasing the first public version [of the DPoG specs] later in 2014,” she added.

Some of that work came to light Tuesday, when Calix announced that its Open Link Cable system, already in use by Grande Communications, is designed to align with the emerging DPoG specs and is “based on concepts” introduced by the current DOCSIS Provisioning of EPON (DPoE) specs.

The latest batch of work will pave the way for cable operators to utilize their existing DOCSIS provisioning on both EPON- and GPON-based network deployments, which have been largely relegated to limited greenfield residential buildouts and for fiber-based services tailored for business customers.

The CableLabs DPoE effort has already produced a sizable initial batch of vendors that have achieved qualification for the 1.0 version of the specs, including Alcatel-Lucent, Aurora Networks, CommScope, Huawei, Sumitomo Electric, ZTE, CTDI, and Finisar. Qualification means those products have been deemed interoperable.

In the DPoE world, the DPoE System is analogous to the cable modem termination system (CMTS), while the Optical Network Unit (ONU) behaves as the modem at the customer premises.

Supporting DOCSIS provisioning on GPON will benefit MSOs that use that particular flavor of fiber-to-the-premises technology, rather than limiting it only to operators that have rolled out EPON technologies.

Separately, CableLabs has also sparked an effort that seeks to bring unity to the PON standards governed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). That CableLabs effort, called “OnePON,” aims to bridge some of the technical differences separating EPON and GPON as the standards bodies move ahead on new generations of those platforms.

The idea for OnePON was spawned after it became increasingly clear that EPON and GPON are naturally coming together through the common use of Ethernet transport, Curtis Knittle, director of optical technologies at CableLabs, said in an earlier interview (subscription required), noting that CableLabs is looking to facilitate that discussion among the standards bodies.