Hybrid fibre coax systems

Target audience:

This course is designed for technicians and engineers responsible for the design and maintenance of hybrid fibre coax (HFC) systems.

 

Course prerequisites:

A basic understanding of digital transmission techniques and data communications. It is suggested that the PTT e-learning courses "Transmission fundamentals" and "Data communication principles" are completed before attempting this course.

 

Course objectives:
By the end of this course you will be able to:

• describe the electrical and physical characteristics of coaxial cable.
• describe the role of the components and the structure of hybrid fibre coax (HFC) systems, and the services HFC systems provide.
• explain how digital compression techniques reduce the bandwidth required by a TV service with reference to the role of MPEG standards.
• describe how digital TV programmes are carried by MPEG transport streams with reference to the roles of programme association and programme map tables.
• describe how information for electronic programme guides and conditional access systems is carried over a digital video broadcasting-cable (DVB-C) system.
• describe the role of the components of, and the protocols employed by, a broadband service conforming to DOCSIS specifications.
• compare the facilities and capabilities of the various DOCSIS and EuroDOCSIS versions.
• describe how upstream transmission opportunities are granted to a cable modem with reference to the role of the various DOCSIS MAC messages.
• explain the relevance of the contention ratio on the data transfer rates available to broadband customers.
• describe how the performance of hybrid fibre coax (HFC) systems can be improved with reference to channel bonding, use of higher order modulation and increased RF bandwidth.
• describe how the service provided to broadband customers can be improved by implementing optical node splitting.
• explain the benefits of employing a switched video service.
• explain how a DOCSIS 3.1 system provides a broadband service with higher data transfer rates.

 

Approximate study time: 4 hours 

 

Delivery platform requirements:
To access the course, a computer/tablet running a browser such as Chrome, Safari, Edge etc. is required. The device should have an active Internet connection and a screen resolution of at least 1024x768.