MoCA – a better access technology than DSL

MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) is a home networking technology, using existing in-building coaxial cables as a mesh network, developed into an industry standard. It connects computers, games consoles, DVR’s and other home appliances witch can communicate over mesh network nodes in a home. The MoCA technology has a very high acceptance in American homes, supported by most major industries and more than 50 million MoCA-based chip-sets for different types of devices have been delivered. MoCA is the only home entertainment-networking standard used by all three pay-TV segments –cable, satellite and IPTV.

MoCA has a well-proven communication protocol over existing coaxial cables. By re-designing the network architecture to a point to multi-point architecture it is possible to use the technology as an in-building access technology for Fiber to the Building (FTTB) implementations. InCoax Networks has a proven solution for such an application.

InCoax MoCA-based access solution has a backbone fiber connection with Gigabit capacity, connected to a central Coax Link Controller (CLC) witch is installed after last Cable-TV or Terrestrial TV amplifier. The CLC communicates over the passive coaxial cable with a modem in each apartment. It can operate over any type of coaxial network since the CLC establishes an individual encrypted data stream with each modem.

This solution has several advantages compared to a DSL solution, as VDSL. The coaxial cable is shielded and capable of transporting signals at higher frequencies, thus reducing interference or crosstalk from other networks. It reaches the entertainment hub of the home where the TV set is located, at any antenna outlet in the apartment – perfect for IPTV and Web-TV. Today, the performance starts with 100 Mbps and within three years the technology will provide up to 1000 Mbps.

InCoax delivers an innovative access solution based on MoCA, Gigabit over Coax Access (GoCA), for broadband access through the coax networks within buildings and building areas. It is powered by Entropic Communications’ Ethernet over Coax (EoC) chip-sets, complying to the MoCA standard.

The GoCA solution consists of one or more CLC in each building or building area and a Coax Link Access Modem in every home. Together with the Coax Link Management system it enables formation of a full access network using the existing coax network. A CLC provides up to Gbps data bandwidth over the network and was designed as a low-cost and easy-to-deploy solution and is thus cost-effective.

The GoCA solution is scalable and a single Coax Link Controller supports up to 124 clients, with rate control on per client basis. Operating above the regular TV signals and providing frequency agility between 800 MHz and 1500 MHz one can add additional Coax Link Controllers to support even more clients. In addition, delivering operator-class robustness and unmatched bandwidth over long distances, the GoCA solution represents the highest performance benchmark.

“We see an increasing demand from broadband operators around Europe for a reliable and cost-efficient access alternative to VDSL. A copper-line based VDSL solution is not always an alternative due to speed, interference and crosstalk problems”, says Helge Tiainen, Product Marketing Manager at InCoax Networks.