Volpe Firm | Technology Blog

20 11, 2024

Understanding Unity Gain

Mia Colabrese2024-11-20T16:11:13-05:00November 20th, 2024|

Join us for our next livestream event, understanding unity gain is an important concept that applies to the forward and reverse paths of most cable networks. Without it, network performance can be degraded. In this episode, Brady Volpe and Ron Hranac will walk you through the principles and practices of unity gain, what it is, and the importance of managing it in our networks. The goal of unity gain is to maintain the same signal strength from the headend (the central distribution point) all the way to

19 11, 2024

How HFC Networks Keep Up with Today’s Broadband Demands: Amplifiers, Coax, and More!

Mia Colabrese2024-11-19T08:36:46-05:00November 19th, 2024|

Brady Volpe and John Downey dive into the SCTE TechExpo24 paper, “HFC - The Gift That Keeps on Giving?” by Dr. L. Alberto Campos and CableLabs. Get ready for an exciting breakdown of the current state of HFC networks and architectures—this is one episode you won’t want to miss! We’re kicking things off with a discussion on tap values and the mystery of why they start high and go lower. Ever wondered what the most common tap value is? Tune in to find out! Then, we’ll dig

15 10, 2024

DOCSIS 3.1 & 4.0 Demos, AI Insights, and vCMTS Innovations from SCTE TechExpo24

Mia Colabrese2024-11-19T08:46:09-05:00October 15th, 2024|

Welcome to another legendary episode of Get Your Tech On! Join Brady Volpe and John Downey as they break down all the hottest trends and innovations from SCTE TechExpo24. This episode dives into what’s new with DOCSIS 3.1, DOCSIS 4.0, and real-world demos showcasing 9.8 Gbps down and 3.7 Gbps up. We also explore the latest vCMTS vendor, smart auto-balancing amplifiers, AI’s growing role in cable tech, and the future of HFC equipment. Plus, we analyze some of the legendary technical papers from the show, including insights

9 09, 2024

Embracing Proactive Network Maintenance with AI

Mia Colabrese2024-09-09T11:20:30-04:00September 9th, 2024|

The Future of DOCSIS Networks In an industry known for its reactive problem-solving prowess, shifting to a proactive approach in proactive network maintenance (PNM) could be transformative. Instead of constant firefighting, what if we could prevent those fires from starting in the first place? Proactive network maintenance is the key to this paradigm shift, leveraging the power of AI to revolutionize how we maintain and enhance our DOCSIS networks. The limitations of reactive maintenance The cable industry has long prided itself on its ability to respond swiftly to

5 09, 2024

Upcoming Tech in Our 100th Episode and DOCSIS 3.1

Mia Colabrese2024-11-12T14:31:32-05:00September 5th, 2024|

Hosted by Brady Volpe, Founder of VolpeFirm and Chief Product Officer at OpenVault, and featuring John Downey, DOCSIS Sr. Industry Consultant, this livestream will focuses on cable / broadband hot topics that will be featured at SCTE Cable Expo 2024. PNM Live and Your network is talking to you - Listen! https://volpefirm.com/blog-2/ Links / Upcoming events: https://volpefirm.com/broadband-event/ Thank you for your time today. This was a great episode. Episode 101 is next You can watch us live or recorded on Youtube or listen to us on your favorite

14 08, 2024

Very big and very small numbers

Mia Colabrese2024-08-14T11:02:10-04:00August 14th, 2024|

RF with Ron and Brady - This topic is a little different than previous presentations, but is important considering the widespread use of very big and very small numbers in cable. Ours is a world of numbers, and in cable we tend to use a lot of really big and really small numbers. In reality, it’s hard to grasp just how big or small numbers can be. Examples include the speed of light (a very big number) and RF signal levels in millivolts or microvolts, or even nanowatts

20 06, 2024

Broadband Insights

Mia Colabrese2024-11-19T08:49:45-05:00June 20th, 2024|

Hosted by Brady Volpe, Founder of VolpeFirm and Chief Product Officer at OpenVault, and featuring John Downey, DOCSIS Sr. Industry Consultant, this livestream will focuses on cable / broadband hot topics such as: 👉 Reddit Rants and Raves: We'll dive into recent user feedback on Starlink and Google Fiber, straight from Reddit. 👉 CommScope's Big Move: What does their acquisition of Casa's vCMTS mean for the future of our networks? Link to CommScope article: https://www.lightreading.com/cable-technology/commscope-will-ride-one-vcmts-in-wake-of-casa-deal 👉 Low Latency DOCSIS: How this technology is revolutionizing real-time applications and boosting

13 06, 2024

Coaxial Cable Impedance, Attenuation and Beyond

Mia Colabrese2024-06-13T09:40:50-04:00June 13th, 2024|

Some people say coax but Ron likes coaxial cable. Coaxial cable has been a key component in our networks dating back to the industry's early days. As such, it's easy to take coax for granted without really understanding just what it is. Here's your chance to learn more about coaxial cable, along with a high-level look at some of its characteristics such as impedance, attenuation, velocity of propagation, DC loop resistance, and more. Please tell us your thoughts in the comments. Coax or Coaxial? 📡 --- Ron's Bio:

6 06, 2024

The Error Era: Rethinking Codeword Calculation with OFDM and SC-QAM

Mia Colabrese2024-06-06T13:43:07-04:00June 6th, 2024|

In our DOCSIS networks, accurately calculating uncorrectable codeword errors is essential for monitoring and maintaining network integrity. These errors, which cannot be corrected by the system’s error-correction algorithms, are known as uncorrectable codewords. The frequency and occurrence of uncorrectable codeword errors can signal physical or network impairments that adversely affect a subscriber’s quality of experience (QoE). When the percentage of these errors surpasses 1%, subscribers typically experience noticeable declines in service quality, which may include slower Internet speeds, disruptions to real-time services like voice and gaming, or even

7 05, 2024

Upgrading Your HFC Plant For The Next 5 Years

Mia Colabrese2024-11-12T14:32:59-05:00May 7th, 2024|

Upgrading Your HFC Plant For The Next 5 Years - the how, the why and the when - listen to uur latest episode of Get Your Tech On! Hosted by Brady Volpe, Founder of VolpeFirm and Chief Product Officer at OpenVault, and featuring John Downey, DOCSIS Sr. Industry Consultant, this livestream focuses on the technical aspects you should consider when looking to upgrade your HFC plant to last for the next five years. 85 MHz or 204 MHz or even higher? DAA? And more. We are going to