http://www.broadbandworldnews.com/author.asp?section_id=472&doc_id=740713While Liberty Global continues to prep its HFC networks for DOCSIS 3.1 rollouts, it's not moving ahead with actual D3.1 deployments as quickly as it once planned.
Speaking on the company's fourth-quarter 2017 earnings call last week, Liberty Global Inc. (Nasdaq: LBTY) executives said they’re continuing to bring their pan-European plant up to speed for the latest version of the industry’s DOCSIS spec. More than 90% of their networks should be ready for DOCSIS 3.1 deployments this year, up from about 75% to 80% last year, said CEO Mike Fries, on the call.
"We are darn near all the way there in terms of having our entire footprint gigabit ready with 3.1," Fries said.
Only when analysts later questioned Fries did the CEO really address the subject. Emphasizing that Liberty Global already has absorbed most of the capital cost of introducing the new, multi-gig-enabling technology, he basically said the MSO will launch DOCSIS 3.1 when it sees the need and demand from consumers who will pay for higher bandwidth.
"The only cost we'll really incur down the road is for new 3.1 modems," Fries said. "Of course, we'll do that when we're ready and we'll do that in the most economic way possible... We won't just roll out 3.1 indiscriminately; we'll roll it out to customers that pay us more for the higher speeds and the better services."
So an implication it'll go where more people are paying for 300/350. At least, I think that's what that means.
It makes perfect sense for right now. Why release a gigabit service when the competition is going to be mostly crap. 500Mb over DOCSIS 3.0, coming once G.fast is more widespread, takes care of that and all the FTTP services I can find for sale from Openreach CPs
The big bit of the CapEx was the new chassis and line cards, and now getting rid of old STBs to allow a move to MP4, freeing up space.
A 96MHz block would do nicely. Extend to 192 on the 860 plant as required, continue rebuilding crappier areas stuck at 750MHz or lower with 1.2GHz kit and they should be able to handle a 96 block.