As has happened continuously since the introduction of DSL and 1 Mbps cable modems, the major broadband technologies continue to evolve and get faster.

Cable HFC technology is getting faster. Harmonic, one of the makers of core cable broadband technology, recently announced that the company had achieved a 14 Gbps speed with DOCSIS 4.0. The test was achieved during a CableLabs interoperability event. The speed was achieved in a mock-up that utilized technology provided by multiple other vendors to achieve the faster speed.

The test was achieved using an updated CMTS (the main hub router in a cable modem network). The speed beats the old record of 10 Gbps, also achieved by Harmonic. It’s unlikely that any cable companies will attempt to achieve that speed, as it would require sacrificing some upload speeds with current DOCSIS 4.0 technology. But a faster CMTS would allow a cable company to offer a true 10 Gbps download product. These kinds of breakthroughs are also important, as they represent the first step towards developing the next generation of electronics.

Fiber Networks Edge Ahead

Faster home broadband service from fiber is also improving. Earlier this year, Nokia announced the availability of two different 25 Gbps customer modems, making it realistic for ISPs to offer the faster 25 Gbps service on a PON fiber network.

Nokia also recently announced the release of a 25G PON card for the network core that can simultaneously support all of the flavors of PON, including GPON, XGS-PON, and 25G PON. The company said the card would easily be able to handle the upcoming 50G PON. Having a core with this flexibility will allow ISPs to keep customers on older GPON technology without having to force an update when the newer technologies are introduced to the network.

Finally, Nokia announced the release of some new home WiFi 7 gateways for the home. The Beacon 4 gateway can reach speeds of 3.6 Gbps, while the tri-band Beacon 9 gateway offers speeds of up to 9.4 Gbps. These are added to a line of gateways that top out with the Beacon 24, which can achieve home WiFi speeds of 24 Gbps. The new generation of WiFi 7 routers offers the possibility of superfast speeds inside the home using the 6 GHz spectrum, while simultaneously still connecting to older devices using the 2.5 and 5 GHz spectrum.

Fixed Wireless and Satellites Join the Race

Another major announcement is the new generation of Tarana radios for fixed wireless. The specifications on the new radios are a leap forward in capacity and performance. The first-generation G1 radio platform could support up to 1,000 customers per tower, 250 per sector. Each sector could accept up to 2.5 gigabits of backhaul bandwidth. The new G2 platform can support up to 512 customers per sector (2048 for a tower). The radios can accept as much as 6 gigabits of backhaul bandwidth per sector.

We can’t leave out satellite technology. The first-generation Starlink satellite weighed around 570 pounds and had a total downlink budget of about 20 Gbps. Starlink is introducing its third-generation satellite, which weighs almost 4,200 pounds and has a downlink budget of 1 Tbps, with an aggregate uplink capacity of 160 Gbps.

This is a sampling of technology improvements and is not meant to exclude improvements being introduced by other vendors. There are many other important improvements, including faster lasers for long-haul fiber routes and point-to-point broadband connections using light.