Comcast this week unveiled it’s deployed over 100,000 Remote-PHY digital nodes across its network, a milestone the operator said is key for its implementation of full-duplex DOCSIS 4.0.
According to Comcast, to-date it’s upgraded 25% of its footprint to Remote-PHY nodes, which are supporting the company’s transition to distributed access architecture (DAA).
Elad Nafshi, EVP and chief network officer at Comcast Cable, noted the rollout represents a technology that’s “broadly available and is already serving many millions of subscribers across our network.”
“This digital architecture provides us with the ability to get down to the second view of everything that happens across the network and be able to respond to it in real time,” Nafshi told Fierce. That includes using automation and AI as well as directing technicians to “wherever the failure points are.”
Harmonic supplies Comcast both Remote-PHY hardware and virtual cable modem termination system (vCMTS) CableOS software, as Dell’Oro Group’s Jeff Heynen told Fierce in January.
Nafshi pointed out Comcast has been working with Harmonic “for several years now” on the vCMTS front and the companies are “very excited with the product that we were able to build together.”
Aside from Harmonic, Comcast will leverage CommScope’s full duplex-capable amplifiers for its DOCSIS 4.0 rollout.
The operator has previously stated it plans to be in the market with DOCSIS 4.0 by the second half of 2023. Last month, Comcast kicked off low latency DOCSIS field trials in partnership with Apple, Nvidia and Valve.
Nafshi said Comcast remains on track with its DOCSIS 4.0 launch and it will have “a lot of exciting progress to report on” in the coming weeks and months.
In the meantime, Comcast is doubling down on multi-gig service. Last September it unveiled a new internet tier with speeds of up to 2 Gbps downstream and 200 Mbps upstream.
Most recently, Comcast launched a symmetrical 10-gig broadband tier for its Gigabit Pro fiber subscribers.