The SCTE/ISBE and the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) announced a new SCTE/ISBE Standards operational practice that is designed to ensure interoperability between MoCA 2.0 and DOCSIS 3.1.
SCTE 235, "Operational Practice for the Coexistence of DOCSIS 3.1 Signals and MoCA Signals in the Home Environment," addresses the need to prevent degradation or failure of signals due to a shared frequency range above 1 GHz. The operational practice specifies the proper use of frequencies and filters that network designers, cable industry technical personnel, equipment designers, and others can employ to deliver optimal performance in environments that include both DOCSIS 3.1 and MoCA 2.0.
The expansion of the DOCSIS RF spectrum above 1.2 GHz created shared frequencies and potential conflicts within the 1,125-1,675 MHz range for DOCSIS 3.1 and MoCA technology. SCTE 235 prescribes sufficient isolation and proper location and required performance of filters to ensure there is no signal leakage from one residence to another and to prevent overload of DOCSIS and MoCA receivers. Among the recommendations is the use of non-overlapping channels and home-run architectures whenever possible.
Based on a technical study by MoCA in cooperation with CableLabs, SCTE 235 was created by the Special Working Group on HFC Readiness for DOCSIS 3.1 within the Network Operations Subcommittee of the SCTE/ISBE Standards Program.
"DOCSIS 3.1 and MoCA are important enabling technologies that support more powerful, flexible services," said Rob Thompson, director of network architecture for Comcast, MoCA board member, and chairman of the Technical Work Group at MoCA. "SCTE 235 is designed to create home environments in which both technologies can perform as intended to meet customer demand."
SCTE 235, Operational Practice for the Coexistence of DOCSIS 3.1 Signals and MoCA Signals in the Home Environment," is available at http://www.scte.org/SCTEDocs/Standards/SCTE 235 2017.pdf.