According to MarketsandMarkets, the hybrid fiber/coaxial (HFC) market is expected to reach $13.6 billion by 2023 from $9.6 billion in 2018, at a CAGR of 8.02% during 2018-2023.
Demand for high bandwidth is driving the need for HFC network technology as it eliminates the limitations of complete copper cable architectures, such as latency and data transfer at higher bandwidth. An HFC network uses a combination of fiber and coaxial cable for connecting several devices.
DOCSIS 3.1 is expected to hold the largest share of the HFC market throughout the forecast period. DOCSIS 3.1 enables greater capacity and speed, with support for up to 50% more data throughput over the same spectrum already on existing HFC networks. Cable providers can deliver up to 10 Gbps speeds downstream and 1 to 2 Gbps upstream. To reduce network delays, DOCSIS 3.1 utilizes Active Queue Management (AQM), which in turn improves the reliability and optimizes the capacity of the network. DOCSIS 3.1 increases capacity by allowing the use of a higher-range spectrum, rather than increasing the capacity by adding more nodes for handling more premises.
The HFC market for CMTS/CCAP is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. These systems enable the exchange of digital signals on a cable network with cable modems. They enable services such as video streaming, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), and high-speed Internet. In an HFC architecture, a CMTS manages all of the cable modems in a network.
North America is expected to hold the largest share of the HFC market during the forecast period owing to the upgrading of the existing HFC network with DOCSIS 3.1 technology. Companies here are implementing HFC to make rapid technological advancements and increase data traffic and cloud-based services. Rapid technological advancements, increasing data traffic, and cloud-based services are expected to exert significant pressure on telcos across the region to deploy high-speed, reliable, and robust networks.