RF over glass could mean the end of coax

Sure, there’s nothing wrong with coax. It’s a great way to deliver huge amounts of data unless you want world class broadband over a shared cable that has the vast majority of it’s available bandwidth consumed by legacy RF signals.

A new development in optical may finally end the reign of coax. RFoG or radio frequency over glass promises tons of dedicated RF bandwidth combined with virtually unlimited digital bandwidth capability.

On Monday, Hitachi introduced two “Node+Zero” modules that are compatible with RFoG, a new cable industry initiative that enables cable operators to install FTTP systems that are capable of communicating with the MSO’s existing headend and traditional cable modems and digital set-tops. The SCTE kicked off an RFoG standards-setting project earlier this year. (See Fog Lifting on RFOG.) Several cable operators, including Cox Communications Inc. and WideOpenWest Holdings LLC (WOW) , are taking a more formal look at FTTP technologies, including RFoG, for residential greenfields and in support of business service deployments, (See Cox Flirts With Fiber and WOW! Does GPON.)

The product from Hitachi most closely associated with RFoG is the Node+Zero H-112, a standalone device that handles the optical-to-electrical conversion at the customer premises and passes through traditional RF-based cable services, including Docsis. The vendor’s Node+Zero H-103 model also passes through RF services but works in conjunction with a GPON optical network terminal (ONT) should operators decide to “future-proof” the system with an extra PON wavelength. (See Hitachi Rolls RFOG Gear .)  (Cable Digital News)

Initially, expect to see the ever reluctant to invest infrastructure cable guys deploying FTTH peace meal and sparsely. However, since RFoG enables them to intermix FTTH with their tired old head ends, it’s likely to become mainstream.