WOW! Offers 2 Gbps Broadband in Trial Market

In order to provide service accommodating 2 Gbps downstream and 200 Mbps upstream to “a select group of customers,” WOW!, a competitive cable provider, has improved the network capacity in certain parts of Panama City, Florida.

The business has also stated that in “the near future,” it will make network enhancements in more places.

Let’s read the news and find out more.

WOW! Offers 2 Gbps Broadband in Trial Market

WOW! is the most recent cable company to enhance its network to enable multi-gigabit speeds and increase upstream speeds.

In areas where another provider has implemented fiber broadband, this move by cable providers is made to eliminate the shortcomings that question the competitiveness of cable operators in the markets.

By implementing distributed access architecture (DAA) over its current hybrid fiber coax (HFC) infrastructure, the company was able to improve the speeds that the network can sustain. HFC connects to a neighborhood node via fiber. The cableco then connects to customers’ houses via coaxial cable.

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Via installing additional technology at the neighborhood node, DAA brings network intelligence closer to the network edge. By doing this, DAA raises the signal-to-noise ratio and enables higher speeds.

To accommodate DOCSIS 4.0, the next generation of cable modem technology, cable operators are upgrading their networks in several ways, notably by deploying DAA.

DOCSIS 4.0 is projected to provide an even greater upstream and downstream speed boost along with other advantages.

Although DOCSIS 4.0 has only experienced little commercial implementation, as the technology becomes more broadly accessible in 2024, it should witness a surge.

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In its release, WOW! Claimed, “This technology is being tested to expand the HFC network, laying the framework for DOCSIS 4.0 and symmetrical multi-gig services enabling WOW! ‘s next-generation 10G network of the future.”

This technology is a major element for several cable industry projects and is also termed by the industry as “10G”, which WOW! used as a reference in its release.

Although upstream speeds will be somewhat lower, these initiatives eventually hope to provide downstream speeds of up to 10 Gbps.

Gary Nilsen, senior vice president of access networks at WOW!, stated in a prepared statement, “As we plan for the ever-increasing consumer demand for bandwidth, our goal is to proactively enhance our network and offer customers our most advanced technology at any given time.”

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Nilsen added, “In addition to delivering greater capability and HSD speeds, the technologies being tested will help minimize the need for future upgrades. We look forward to further validating the enhanced capabilities of our network with this trial in Panama City.”

WOW! ‘s CTO Henry Hryckiewicz proceeded, “WOW! has had a strong presence in Florida for many years, and it’s important to us to ensure our legacy markets are getting the fastest, highest quality service we have to offer,”

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Hryckiewicz continued, “The trials in Panama City are an essential step in our broader plan to expand the capability of our network, in a very cost-effective manner, for our legacy markets across the Midwest and Southeast.”