5 Ways Charter’s DOCSIS 4.0 Rollout Will Impact Broadband by 2025
Charter Communications unveiled its plan to advance on the DOCSIS 4.0 technology, which will overhaul Charter’s network in the next three years. The deployment will enable the internet provider to offer multi-gigabit speeds to the vast majority of its hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) customers. According to Rich DiGeronimo, president of product and technology at Charter, the deployment will happen in three phases and cover the entire footprint of 55 million passings.
The DOCSIS 4.0–based traffic is capable of offering top-tier speeds of up to 10 Gbps. Charter’s ambitious plan also includes limiting the upgrade costs to only $100 per passing. Fiber competitors are deploying new infrastructure at a significantly higher cost, but Charter is able to deploy at lower costs since it offers asymmetrical speeds.
The first phase of the implementation, which will continue until the end of 2023, will deliver speeds of up to 2 Gbps downstream and 1 Gbps upstream for around 15 percent of its footprint. The second phase will commence in early 2024 and is expected to cover another 50 percent of its footprint. Once completed, the second phase will allow Charter to deliver downstream speeds of up to 5 Gbps.
Here are five ways the implementation will impact broadband by 2025.
The last phase will start in late 2024, deploying DOCSIS 4.0 for the remaining 35 percent of its footprint to enable speeds of up to 10 Gbps. Charter also has plans to offer fiber-on-demand service, delivering symmetrical speeds of 25 Gbps.
10 Gbps Becomes the New Reality
DOCSIS 4.0’s high speeds are one of its most notable features. With brand-new technology, 10 Gbps upstream capacity is possible for residential and business services. That would be a game changer for the broadband industry, which currently offers such high-speed internet. The higher speed will help with faster load times for web pages, music, and videos. As gigabit speed becomes the new reality of high-speed internet, other ISPs will look to invest in DOCSIS 4.0 or similar technologies to future-proof their networks and ensure their customers get cutting-edge services for years to come.
A Leap Forward for High-Bandwidth Applications
DOCSIS 4.0’s ability to offer symmetrical multi-gigabit speeds is significant to new application development. As deployment heads toward completion by 2025, more high-bandwidth applications that involve interactive video conferencing, internet of things, virtual reality, and remote learning — as well as health-care applications — will be available.
Increased Network Security
Network security is the top priority of the broadband industry, and DOCSIS 4.0 technology could help solve the problem. With DOCSIS 4.0, you get different approaches to reducing data theft, sabotage, data loss, and other privacy risks. Charter’s implementation could push competitors to upgrade to DOCSIS 4.0 technology, helping improve overall network security and building consumer trust in broadband.
More Reliable Connectivity
DOCSIS 4.0 will improve the broadband experience by reducing internet slowdowns, sudden glitches, and other annoying interruptions. Consumers can get more done with broadband networks supported by DOCSIS 4.0.
Lower Latency Technology
DOCSIS 4.0 reduces latency on cable networks using proactive grant service (PGS) to optimize traffic flow. Latency refers to the time it takes for data to travel through the network. Lower latency helps reduce jitters, improve the browsing experience, and increase performance for high-bandwidth applications.