ECE 6613: Broadband Access Networks

Hybrid Fiber-Coax Systems

Gee-Kung Chang
Byers Eminent Scholar Chair Professor
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332-0250
September 15, 2015

Class Announcements
The term paper abstract is due on September 15.
The presentation of term paper abstract starts on September 17. Each
student is required to present on the selected topic in 4 minutes.

We have invited subject experts from the industry to present guest

lectures for ECE-6613, Broadband Access Networks. Here is a list of
potential guest speakers for our course.

Carl Bedingfield, AT&T Foundry, U-VERSE and ADSL/VDSL,

Cheng Liu, AT&T Labs, Mobile Data Network Architecture,

Shawn Liu, Broadcom, Advanced WiFi Technologies,

Jeff Finkelstein, Cox Comm, Advanced HFC Architectures,
Bill VerSteeg, Cisco, IP Video and Data Streaming,
Yuang Lou, AT&T, LTE-A Systems and Devices,
Umakishore Ramanchadran, Cloud Computing and Internet of Things,
Mark Braunstein, GT, Health Care through the Cloud,

Broadband Transport by HFC Systems

Broadband Cable Access Networks, by D. Large & James Farmer
Evolution of HFC Systems
CATV: Community Antenna Television

Broadband multichannel analog signals

A mixture of broadcast RF analog and digital signals
A mixture of two-way digital signals on RF carriers and broadcast
analog/digital signals
A mixture of broadcast and two-way digital signals (SDTV &HDTV)
Evolution of HFC Network Architecture (pushing fiber closer to home)
Fiber in the backbone
Fiber to the feeder
Fiber to the tap
Fiber to the information terminal (converging of technologies)
RF over glass (RFoG), towards the final solution comparable to FTTH
Fiber for mobile fronthaul
3

Traditional HFC Video Distribution Network

Distribution Network

Off
Air

Local

Local HE
or Hub

Satellite
Master
Head-End
(HE)

SONET
fiber rings

Regional
Head-End

AM and/or
SONET
fiber rings

E/O

E/O

x 40

AM Analog
Fibers
O/E

Trunk Amps

Digital STB
Subscriber

Coax Trunk

RG-6

Feeder
Drop
Cable

Line
Extender
Amp

Tap

SONET: Synchronized Optical NETwork

Fiber
Node
Power
inserters

Fiber Serving Area

Cable TV Objectives
Deliver as many signals as possible from headend (HE) to
subscribers, and consistent with the goal of low cost

Today, it must accommodate return path signals

including Internet upstream access services
Analog video
Digital video 64 QAM or 256 QAM for Cable TV
(vs. 8-VSB for Broadcast DTV)
Digital music
Sometimes FM radio
Two-way data for Internet access
Two-way video access
Two-way telephony, VoIP (Voice over IP)

Non-public services carried by Cable TV

Status monitoring
Local video back-haul
Local mobile back-haul
Local community and business services
5

Past Cable TV Architecture (before 1990s)

Early Stage: All-cable transmission from headend to the homes
in 1948 to late 1980s that requires many amplifiers
Electrical Amplifier

Trunk
cables

Distribution plant
Line extenders

Headend
Trunk
amplifiers

Tap

Homes

Problems with Early Stage Coax Cable Architecture

System Noise and signal Distortion build up through the

chain of amplifiers

Maintaining acceptable frequency response is difficult

o Limited service range

Maintaining linearity for signal modulations is difficult

Any failure denies service to all subscribers downstream
Upstream data services simply don't work (due to the
deployment of directional amplifiers)

The HFC Solution (starting in 1990s)

HFC = Hybrid Fiber-Coax Systems

Fiber optic cable delivers signals most of the way

from the headend (HE) to the subscriber, with coax
cable taking over for the last mile or so.

HFC architecture developed slowly from the late 80s,

starting as a way to reduce cascade length, and
culminating in delivering triple-play services in modern
HFC systems defined by the DOCSIS standards.
DOCSIS: data over cable system interface specifications

The Conversion to Digital TV

The public broadcast TV service companies (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX,
etc) in the United States were required to transmit digital TV formats
such as 1080p, 1080i, and 720p starting on June 12, 2009.

In Canada, the SDTV or HDTV public broadcast will start in 2011-2012.

In Japan, it will start the conversion from analog TV to Digital TV
broadcast in 2012. Japan will launch 8K UHD (7680 x 4320) broadcast
in 2016.

China will convert to HD Digital TV by 2015.

In the United States it is estimated that it will take about 10 years to
phase out more than 100 million old analog TV sets already deployed
in the homes. For homes with only the analog TV set, it requires a
digital to analog (DAC) signal conversion device for receiving public
broadcast services.

All triply-play service providers (based on PON, HFC, and DSL) will
deliver both analog and digital TVs to their subscribers independent of
the TV set used in customers home.
9

Digital TV Standards

1280 x 720
1920 x 540
1920 x 1080

921,600
1,036,800
2,073,600

What is the bit rate required to transmit non-compressed 1080p Digital TV?
10

1080i Interlace vs. 1080p Progressive Scan

1920 x 540 pixels scanned in 1/60 sec

1920 x 1080 pixels scanned in 1/60 sec

11

4K UHD TV

displaying a movie on 4096 x 2160 pixels

12

The Beginning: Modern HFC Architecture

Coaxial
cable

Direction
of signal
flow
reversed

Optical node
(typical)

Fiber node
area

Coaxial
cable

Fiber
optic
cable

Coaxial
cable

Downstream

Upstream

Fiber optic cable

13

Evolution of Internet Access Speeds

100G
10G
1G
100M
10M

1M
100k
10k

1k
100

4 Gbps DS @ 256 QAM

24x8 Cable Modem

1 Gbps
100 Mbps
200 Mbps
12 Mbps
1 Mbps
50 Mbps
256 kbps
5 Mbps
56 kbps
512 kbps
28.8 kbps
128 kbps
9.6 kbps
33.6 kbps
14.4 kbps
1.2 kbps
2.4 kbps
300 bps

Dial-up

DOCSIS 1.0-2.0

DOCSIS 3.0

10
1

Next
Generation
DOCSIS 3.1

1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 2030
Copyright 2012 Cox Communications

14

Fiber Deep Evolution

Copyright 2012 Cox Communications

15

Optical Fiber Cable in HFC Systems

Single-mode Fiber: SMF-28
Core: higher index of
refraction
Cladding glass: uniform lower
index of refraction
Coating: a protective layer,
usually colored
8.3 mm
125 mm
250 mm

16

Optical Fiber Dimensions

Typically:
Dn=0.33%

17

Multi-Mode v.s. Single-Mode Fiber

System deployment cost

Not the material cost

18

Lightwave Propagation Principle

of Multi-mode Optical Waveguide

19

Available Bandwidth in Single Mode Fiber

Available bandwidth
in C-Band: 4.375 THz
20

Transmission Bands in Single Mode Fiber

21

Band

Description

Wavelength Range

O band
E band
S band

Original
Extended
Short Wavelengths

1260 to 1360 nm
1360 to 1460 nm
1460 to 1530 nm

C band
L band
U band

Conventional (EDFA window)

Long Wavelengths
Ultra-long Wavelength

1530 to 1565 nm
1565 to 1625 nm
1625 to 1675 nm

Available Lightwave Bandwidth in Single Mode Fiber

Available bandwidth, Dn, at the C band, 1530 to 1565 nm
n

Dn

c D

1550nm, D 35nm and c 3 x 108 m / sec

Dn

c D

3 108 m / s 35 10 9 m

1550 10 m
9

Dn 4.375 1012 Hz 4.375 THz

22

Transmission Loss of Coax Cable

Loss per km (dB)
70
60

0.412" Coax

50
40
30

1" Coax

20

Fiber optic cable:

10

0.5 dB/km @ 1310 nm

0.22 dB/km @ 1550 nm

0
0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Frequency (MHz)
23

Coax Cable Loss Vs. Frequency

Last drop

Trunk
Cable

High frequency channels suffer more loss than the low frequency channels.
The loss roughly depends on the square root of frequency ratio.
For example, the loss at 450 MHz is roughly three times of the loss at 50MHz.
24

Coaxial Cable Loss: Frequency & Temperature

14

Attenuation (dB/500 feet), 0.5" cable,

Cable TV has better reception in the winter because of the lower loss

12

Pilot carrier in this

frequency range

+140

68o

10
-40

8
6
Loss at 850MHz comparing with 50 MHz :
O
-40 + 7.4 dB
O
68 + 8.4 dB
140O + 9.1 dB

4
2
0
50

250

450

650

850

Frequency (MHz)
25

Analog TV over Cable:

in an NTSC AM-VSB Video Signal

NTSC: The analog Television system used in North America defined

by National Television System Committee

26

Broadcast Digital TV over Air

8VSB converts a digital input stream by amplitude modulating a sinusoidal carrier to
one of eight levels. It delivers 3b/Hz.
8 Vestigial sideband modulation

3-dB bandwidth is 5.38 MHz.

The input signal is MPEG-2 and
Converted to 8 VSB at payload
Rate of 19.29 Mb/s

ATSC: Advanced Television Systems Committee standards: defined digital television in North America, South Korea
27

Brosadcast Digital TV over Air

Multi-level 8 VSB signal

ATSC: Advanced Television Systems Committee, in North America, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea
28

Digital TV over Air

The presence of the pilot adds very little power (only 0.3 dB) to the modulated signal, but it is
important in that it enables receiver tuning under conditions of severe noise and interference.
It also speeds carrier recovery and, therefore, data acquisition in the receiver.

NTSC: National television standard committee, in North America, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea
29

Digital TV over Cable

Its all about QAM Modulation

30

Mixed Analog and Digital TV delivered over Cable

6-10 dB

31

Basic Frequency Components

in an NTSC AM-VSB Video Signal
AM-VSB: Amplitude modulation with vestigial sideband
Luma
Carrier

Crosstalk

Chroma
Carrier

Color phase and amplitude

become a function of
signals brightness
DP DG

NTSC: National television standard committee, in North America and South Korea
PAL: Phase alternation line, shift the color signal by 90 in phase domain
for alternate lines developed in Europe. The hues in alternate lines are compensated
due to the phase shift. Aural carrier: An RF carrier modulated with audio signal

32

Staircase Signal for DG and DP Testing

Slight nonlinearity in the CATV circuit system cause the Luma and Chroma
signals to modulate each other. Thats why occasionally spurious rainbow color
showed up when Chroma is interfered by the Luma carrier in the circuit.
DG: Differential chroma gain is a difference in amplitude response at the color subcarrier frequency (3.58 MHz)
as the luminance signal level changes
DP: A change in the phase of the color subcarrier when theres a change in the amplitude of the luminance signal
33

PAL: European Analog Television Standard

In Europe (except France), the PAL, phase alternating at line rate,
was developed to solve the problems of DG and DP. The principle of technical
approach is shift the phase of chroma by 90 on adjacent lines.
It further separates the frequency spacing between the Luma and Chroma
carriers by 4.434 MHz.
It has 625 lines per frame comparing with 525 lines in NTSC.

34

Cable TV Frequency Allocation Plan

In the U.S., broadcast TV are assigned channel 2 to

83 by FCC (Federal Communication Commission).

All channels are separated by 6 MHz except theres
an extra 4 MHz gap between Channel 4 and 5.
In Community Antenna Television (CATV) carrier
allocation, all picture carriers are placed at 1.25
MHz above 6-MHz multiples except channel 5 and 6.
Channel 5 and 6 are placed 0.75 MHz below 6-MHz
multiples.
Video carriers in the bands 108-137 MHz and 225400 MHz must be offset by 25kHz and 12.5 kHz,
respectively. This is to avoid conflict with
aeronautical services.

35

More on Cable TV Frequency Plan

In IRC (Incremental Related Carriers)

allocation, all channels are placed 1.2625

MHz above 6-MHz multiples except Channel
98 and 99.

In HRC (Harmonic related carriers)

allocation, the picture carriers are placed to

very close to 6-MHz multiples.

Both IRC and HRC plan can reduce

composite triple beat (CTB) noise

generated in non-linear devices such as the
amplifiers.
36

The Spectrum on the Cable

EIA-542 channel
(standard plan):

Off-air & traditional 2

cable:
Frequency (MHz):

.......
3

54

95 96 97

98 99

14

...........

FM

A-2 A-1

88

72 76

Band:

108

22 7
H

.........
8

10 11 12 13

174

120

Low Band

13

216

Mid Band

High Band

EIA: Electronic Industries Association

EIA-542 channel
(standard plan):

23

Traditional cable (no

J
off-air):
Frequency (MHz):

36

...

37

W AA

216

...

Off air

CH 14
470

Cable (standard
assignment)

...

94 100

158

...

1002

648

Hyper Band

Super Band

UHF:

ZZ
456

300

Band:

62 63

CH 15
476

CH 16
482

2 MHz
CH 65

CH 66

CH 67
37

Cable TV Frequency Plan

for Standard, IRC, and HRC Video Carriers
The picture carrier frequency is shown in this chart.
For the aural carrier frequency, add 4.5 MHz to the picture carrier.
The lower edge of the channel is 1.25 MHz below the picture carrier
and the upper edge is 4.75 MHz above the picture carrier.

The standard specifies HRC channels as shown here

except that channel 98 is 108.025 MHz and channel 99
is 114.025 MHz.
To calculate the frequency of any EIA-542 channel
above 99:
Standard:
Frequency(in MHz)=(6*(8+channel_designation))+1.25
HRC:
Frequency(in MHz) =6.0003*(8+channel_designation)
IRC:
Frequency(in MHz) =(6*(8+channel_designation))+1.2625
38

Cable TV Frequency Plan (1/7)

for Standard, IRC, and HRC Video Carriers
The picture carrier frequency is shown in this chart. For the aural carrier frequency,
add 4.5 MHz to the visual carrier. The lower edge of the channel is 1.25 MHz
below the visual carrier and the upper edge is 4.75 MHz above the visual carrier.
Channel designation
EIA/NCTA

T-7

7.00

T-8

13.00

T-9

19.00

T-10

25.00

T-11

31.00

T-12

37.00

T-13

43.00

T-14

49.00

55.25

54.0027

55.2625

55.25

61.25

60.0030

61.2625

61.25

67.25

66.0033

67.2625

67.25

A-8

72.0036

73.2625

77.25

78.0039

79.2625

77.25

83.25

84.0042

85.2625

83.25

95

A-5

91.25

90.0045

91.2625

96

A-4

97.25

96.0048

97.2625

97

A-3

103.25

102.0051

103.2625

T Band

Low Band

FM Band

Standard

Traditional

Visual carrier (MHz) or Picture carrier

HRC
IRC
Broadcast

39

Cable TV Frequency Plan (2/7)

for Standard, IRC, and HRC Video Carriers

Channel designation
EIA/NCTA

Mid Band

Visual carrier (MHz)

Traditional

Standard

HRC

IRC

Broadcast

98

A-2

109.275/2

108.0054

109.275

99

A-1

115.275/2

114.0057

115.275

14

121.2625/1

120.0060

121.2625

471.25

15

127.2625/1

126.0063

127.2625

477.25

16

133.2625/1

132.0066

133.2625

483.25

17

139.25

138.0069

139.2625

489.25

18

145.25

144.0072

145.2625

495.25

19

151.25

150.0075

151.2625

501.25

20

157.25

156.0078

157.2625

507.25

21

163.25

162.0081

163.2625

513.25

22

169.25

168.0084

169.2625

519.25

40

Cable TV Frequency Plan (3/7)

for Standard, IRC, and HRC Video Carriers

VHF band comprises channels 2 through 13 and

occupies frequencies between 54 and 216 MHz
Channel designation
EIA/NCTA

High Band

Visual carrier (MHz)

Traditional

Standard

HRC

IRC

Broadcast

175.25

174.0087

175.2625

175.25

181.25

180.0090

181.2625

181.25

187.25

186.0093

187.2625

187.25

10

10

193.25

192.0096

193.2625

193.25

11

11

199.25

198.0099

199.2625

199.25

12

12

205.25

204.0102

205.2625

205.25

13

13

211.25

210.0105

211.2625

211.25

41

Cable TV Frequency Plan (4/7)

for Standard, IRC, and HRC Video Carriers
EIA/NCTA

Traditional

Standard

HRC

IRC

Broadcast

23

217.25

216.0108

217.2625

525.25

24

223.25

222.0111

223.2625

531.25

25

229.2625/1

228.0114

229.2625

537.25

26

235.2625/1

234.0117

235.2625

543.25

27

241.2625/1

240.0120

241.2625

549.25

28

247.2625/1

246.0123

247.2625

555.25

29

253.2625/1

252.0126

253.2625

561.25

30

259.2625/1

258.0129

259.2625

567.25

31

265.2625/1

264.0132

265.2625

573.25

32

271.2625/1

270.0135

271.2625

579.25

33

277.2625/1

276.0138

277.2625

585.25

34

283.2625/1

282.0141

283.2625

591.25

35

289.2625/1

288.0144

289.2625

597.25

36

295.2625/1

294.0147

295.2625

603.25

Super Band

42

Cable TV Frequency Plan (5/7)

for Standard, IRC, and HRC Video Carriers
Channel designation
EIA/NCTA
Traditional

Hyper Band

Visual carrier (MHz)

HRC
IRC

Standard

Broadcast

37

AA

301.2625

/1

300.0150

301.2625

609.25

38

BB

307.2625

/1

306.0153

307.2625

615.25

39

CC

313.2625

/1

312.0156

313.2625

621.25

40

DD

319.2625

/1

318.0159

319.2625

627.25

41

EE

325.2625

/1

324.0162

325.2625

633.25

42

FF

331.275

/2

330.0165

331.275

639.25

43

GG

337.2625

/1

336.0168

337.2625

645.25

44

HH

343.2625

/1

342.0171

343.2625

651.25

45

II

349.2625

/1

348.0174

349.2625

657.25

46

JJ

355.2625

/1

354.0177

355.2625

663.25

47

KK

361.2625

/1

360.0180

361.2625

669.25

48

LL

367.2625

/1

366.0183

367.2625

675.25

49

MM

373.2625

/1

372.0186

373.2625

681.25

50

NN

379.2625

/1

378.0189

379.2625

687.25

51

OO

385.2625

/1

384.0192

385.2625

693.25

52

PP

391.2625

/1

390.0195

391.2625

699.25

53

QQ

397.2625

/1

396.0198

397.2625

705.25

54

RR

403.25

402.0201

403.2625

711.25

55

SS

409.25

408.0204

409.2625

717.25

56

TT

415.25

414.0207

415.2625

723.25

57

UU

421.25

420.0210

421.2625

729.25

58

VV

427.25

426.0213

427.2625

735.25

59

WW

433.25

432.0216

433.2625

741.25

60

XX

439.25

438.0219

439.2625

747.25

61

YY

445.25

444.0222

445.2625

753.25

62

ZZ

451.25

450.0225

451.2625

759.25

43

Cable TV Frequency Plan (6/7)

for Standard, IRC, and HRC Video Carriers
Channel designation
EIA/NCTA

Traditional

Visual carrier (MHz)

Standard

HRC

IRC

Broadcast

63

457.25

456.0228

457.2625

765.25

64

463.25

462.0231

463.2625

771.25

65

469.25

468.0234

469.2625

777.25

66

475.25

474.0237

475.2625

783.25

67

481.25

480.0240

481.2625

789.25

68

487.25

486.0243

487.2625

795.25

69

493.25

492.0246

493.2625

801.25

70

499.25

498.0249

499.2625

807.25

71

505.25

504.0252

505.2625

813.25

72

511.25

510.0255

511.2625

819.25

73

517.25

516.0258

517.2625

825.25

74

523.25

522.0261

523.2625

831.25

75

529.25

528.0264

529.2625

837.25

76

535.25

534.0267

535.2625

843.25

77

541.25

540.0270

541.2625

849.25

78

547.25

546.0273

547.2625

855.25

79

553.25

552.0276

553.2625

861.25

80

559.25

558.0279

559.2625

867.25

81

565.25

564.0282

565.2625

873.25

82

571.25

570.0285

571.2625

879.25

83

577.25

576.0288

577.2625

885.25

84

583.25

582.0291

583.2625

85

589.25

588.0294

589.2625

86

595.25

594.0297

595.2625

87

601.25

600.0300

601.2625

88

607.25

606.0303

607.2625

89

613.25

612.0306

613.2625

90

619.25

618.0309

619.2625

91

625.25

624.0312

625.2625

92

631.25

630.0315

631.2625

93

637.25

636.0318

637.2625

94

643.25

642.0321

643.2625

44

Cable TV Frequency Plan (7/7)

for Standard, IRC, and HRC Video Carriers
100

649.25

648.0324

649.2625

101

655.25

654.0327

655.2625

102

661.25

660.0330

661.2625

103

667.25

666.0333

667.2625

104

673.25

672.0336

673.2625

105

679.25

678.0339

679.2625

106

685.25

684.0342

685.2625

107

691.25

690.0345

691.2625

108

697.25

696.0348

697.2625

109

703.25

702.0351

703.2625

110

709.25

708.0354

709.2625

111

715.25

714.0357

715.2625

112

721.25

720.0360

721.2625

113

727.25

726.0363

727.2625

114

733.25

732.0366

733.2625

115

739.25

738.0369

739.2625

116

745.25

744.0372

745.2625

117

751.25

750.0375

751.2625

118

757.25

756.0378

757.2625

119

763.25

762.0381

763.2625

120

769.25

768.0384

769.2625

121

775.25

774.0387

775.2625

122

781.25

780.0390

781.2625

123

787.25

786.0393

787.2625

124

793.25

792.0396

793.2625

125

799.25

798.0399

799.2625

EIA/NCTA

Traditional

Channel designation

Standard

HRC

IRC

Visual carrier (MHz)

Broadcast

45

Summary of Traditional CATV Frequency Plan

88-108 MHz
FM radio

5-42 MHz

46