Altice USA, which was created when European cable TV conglomerate Altice N.V. (Euronext: ATC, ATCB) acquired Suddenlink and Cablevision (see "Altice completes Cablevision buy, forms Altice USA, shuffles management"), has announced that it will use fiber to the home (FTTH) as its next generation broadband access infrastructure. The fourth largest U.S. cable company will buck the general trend among its fellow operators to rely on DOCSIS 3.1 to support transmission rates of 10 Gbps over hybrid fiber/coax infrastructure (see "CableLabs releases DOCSIS 3.1 chip specifications").
The operator says it will roll out the new infrastructure over a five-year period that will begin in 2017. The company expects to complete its deployment across its Suddenlink footprint and address most of its Optimum/Cablevision markets within the fiver-year timeframe. Altice USA hasn't said which FTTH technology it will use for its new fiber-optic broadband infrastructure, other than to say that it will "leverage cutting-edge and proprietary technologiesdeveloped by Altice Labs," which is the company's research and development arm.
Altice has deployed fiber aggressively in several of its other markets. Altice France will pass 22 million homes with fiber by the end of 2022, and Altice Portugal expects to reach 5.3 million fiber homes passed by the end of 2020.
"Across the globe Altice has invested heavily in building state-of-the-art fiber-optic networks, and we are pleased to bring our expertise stateside to drive fiber deeper into our infrastructure for the benefit of our U.S. Optimum and Suddenlink customers," said Dexter Goei, Altice USA chairman and CEO. "Today, we have a best-in-class network with incredibly fast speeds and quality service, and by taking immediate steps to create the fastest next-generation network, we will be positioned to support our customers' needs well into the future.
"Altice USA's 'Generation GigaSpeed' underscores our promise to accelerate investment in our network, sets the foundation for the delivery of next-generation services and enhancements for our customers, and is a testimony to the bright future of the U.S. telecommunications industry," Goei concluded.
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