Cable One plots course for 10 Gbps broadband to compete with fiber

Diversified broadband provider Cable One is on a path to launch 10 Gbps service. The company said it has already made gigabit service available to 99 percent of its footprint across 24 states, first offering it back in 2016. Cable One is actively upgrading its network to facilitate DOCSIS 4.0, which is the cable industry’s answer to the proliferation of fiber broadband from primarily telco competitors. The move to DOCSIS 4.0 involves upgrading the operator’s return path to facilitate symmetrical multi-gig service. In Cable One’s case, it is reclaiming spectrum that was historically used for linear video transmission and upgrading its hybrid fiber coaxical (HFC) plant to 1.8 GHz. The broader cable industry is embracing its R&D arm CableLabs’ 10G initiative, which lays out a technical specification for 10 Gbps service over existing HFC networks. Referred to as the DOCSIS 4.0 standard, the upgraded service should allow cable operators to offer 10 Gbps downstream and 6 Gbps upstream, enabling symmetrical multi-gig service. Benton