What Are S-Parameters and Other Hot Cable Network Topics

SCTE•ISBE’s Cable-Tec Expo – the biggest cable show of the year – is over and now the hard work of putting all that new knowledge and innovation to work begins.

The hot topic most interesting to me were advancements made to ready the network for DAA deployments. From overcoming challenges, to operations to automation drivers, this topic was discussed in many conference sessions.  For best practice tips, check out this Accelerate the Deployment of Distributed Access Architecture webinar.  5G, 10G, distributed access architectures, cloud, and much more (for an intro to some of these see “16 Cable Industry Terms You Need to Know to Get Ready for Cable-Tec 2019” were topics also explored at the event.

For a recap of all the Cable-Tec Expo hot topics, check out my article in the Winter 2019 issue of Broadband Library – a quarterly publication distributed to members of SCTE·ISBE.

Also in this issue of Broadband Library is another article I penned, titled, “A Quick Look at S-Parameters.” This article provides an overview of S-Parameters and the role they play in a cable network. Scattering parameters, more commonly known as S-parameters, are metrics used to characterize the performance of devices or components under test in, say, a lab. The devices or components can be thought of as “networks,” and S-parameters are a way to describe what happens when certain test signals are applied to those “networks.” Unless you’ve worked with specialized test equipment, such as vector network analyzers, you’ve probably never heard of S-parameters before. Why might this topic be of interest now? The S-parameter called S11 (pronounced “ess one-one”) is commonly used to describe a full duplex (FDX) DOCSIS node’s echo cancellation.

Today’s users expect unlimited bandwidth, which is why scalability was another Cable-Tec Expo hot topic.  Register for the upcoming Cisco webinar, Game Changing Scalability for Cable Operators, to get a comprehensive view of insights to help cable operators get out from of demand.