Broadband Cable Access Networks

Chapter 9. Architectural Requirements and Techniques

9.1. Introduction

The architecture of a cable system is a description of how the major elements—signal acquisition, signal processing, signal transport, and subscriber terminal equipment—are interconnected. The first step in selecting or analyzing a specific network architecture is to analyze the services to be delivered and their requirements. In a dynamic telecommunications market, however, service penetration and customer usage will grow and new services will emerge. Therefore, the second requirement of the selected network configuration is that its initial cost be consistent with expected revenues but that it be capable of scaling economically to meet market opportunities and customer ...