Among several new DOCSIS 3.1-related announcements Arris is set to make at Cable-Tec Expo in Denver this week, the manufacturer will show off a new device that it says eliminates the scourge of optical beat interference (OBI) in RF over glass (RFoG) applications.
RFoG allows cable operators to deliver RF-based services to subscribers over fiber using legacy systems. But the scheme has been troubled by OBI, which occurs when multiple cable modems simultaneously transfer signals over fiber using the same light wavelength.
To solve the problem, Arris built a lab and sought to create the OBI problem itself. It found the issue only got worse in a DOCSIS 3.1 environment.
The solution that emerged was the AgileMax, a product designed to be situated where the fiber splitter lives on the network.
"It completely eliminates the OBI effect," Ray Bontempi, VP of product management for Arris, told FierceCable. "We're focused on the RFoG piece. We believe there's lots of opportunity if we could solve this problem."
For more:
- read this Arris press release
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