Harmonic strengthens its broadband bond with Charter and Comcast
Key Highlights
- Harmonic secured significant deals with Charter and Comcast, supporting their network upgrades to DOCSIS 4.0 and fiber solutions.
- The company’s fiber solutions, including cOS virtual BNG and remote OLTs, enable operators to extend connectivity to remote communities and support multi-gigabit speeds.
- Harmonic’s broadband revenue declined year-over-year but remains a key growth driver, with strong customer wins and expanding use cases worldwide.
- The deployment of Unified DOCSIS 4.0 and fiber solutions is accelerating, with multiple operators, including Mediacom, GCI, and Midco, upgrading their networks.
- International wins and large-scale deployments demonstrate Harmonic’s global market presence and its role in next-generation broadband transformation.
Keep up to date with Lightwave’s earnings coverage.
You can check our publication’s key segments:
And
Here are other stories on Harmonic:
Harmonic’s latest deals with Charter and Comcast’s broadband networks, including fiber and DOCSIS upgrades, both completed in the third quarter, further solidify the vendor’s presence among a large base of cable operators transitioning their networks to DOCSIS 4.0 and fiber.
Spectrum will leverage Harmonic’s cOS, vCMTS, and advanced network and operational tools across its entire service area, including the deployment of DOCSIS 4.0 Unified Pebble-2 RPDs. Harmonic said this enables Spectrum to support DOCSIS 4.0 services and create a foundation for future DOCSIS developments, including spectrum expansion and advanced tools.
Comcast, which is deploying Harmonic’s fiber solution, including its cOS virtual BNG and remote OLTs, as part of its network expansion program, is a key development in the cable MSO’s plan to reach an additional 1.2 million locations and deliver multi-gigabit symmetrical broadband.
Nimrod Ben-Natan, President and CEO, told investors during its third quarter earnings call that its “agreement with Comcast is a major highlight this quarter” of its fiber capabilities.
“This expansion extends connectivity to new and remote communities and demonstrates how our solution accelerates fiber reach while simplifying operations and reducing cost,” he said. “The fiber segment remains a key growth driver supported by record bookings and expanding global adoption.”
Converged DOCISIS, fiber momentum
Fueled by new deployments, expanding fiber adoption, and Unified DOCSIS 4.0 advances, Harmonic’s broadband business continues to gain momentum.
The company is seeing demand for its fiber solutions from both large Tier 1 operators and smaller operators, who are building fiber in Greenfield and Brownfield markets to meet market needs. “Fiber continues as a high priority as we execute successfully across a growing number of deployments,” said Ben-Natan. “It stands out as a major growth engine for Harmonic with rising customer wins, expanding use cases, and consistently increasing revenue.”
Harmonic is also seeing equal momentum in its DOCSIS business, particularly as providers plan for DOCSIS 4.0. Harmonic is supporting DOCSIS 4.0 deployments with its cOS, vCMTS and advanced network and operational tools.
“Combined with growing intelligence of our cloud-based capabilities, Harmonic is positioned as the partner of choice for operators seeking to elevate broadband performance, simplify operations, and maximize value from their network investments,” said Ben-Natan. ”These dynamics give us confidence in our long-term growth trajectory as Unified DOCSIS 4.0 and fiber deployments scale through 2026 and beyond.”
While Harmonic’s deals with Charter and Comcast are essential wins for its DOCSIS and fiber business lines, Harmonic has also gained momentum with other sizeable cable operators, including Mediacom, GCI, and Midco.
Mediacom worked with Harmonic, ATX, Technetix, and Hitron to build a Unified DOCSIS 4.0 solution on a live extended-spectrum network. Having started in Moline, Illinois, Mediacom has committed to upgrading its network to DOCSIS 4.0 to deliver multi-gigabit, symmetrical broadband speeds to one million homes and businesses by the end of 2026.
Ben-Natan said this “deployment [with Mediacom] showcased at SCTE TechExpo demonstrated symmetric multi-gig performance and live analytics with real subscribers, a breakthrough moment for the broadband industry.”
GCI is leveraging Harmonic’s cOS platform and Unified DOCSIS 4.0 nodes to build out multi-gigabit broadband to some of the most remote regions in North America.
“This collaboration highlights how our technology helps operators extend the reach and longevity of existing HFC infrastructure,” Ben-Natan said.
Meanwhile, Midco continued its rollout of virtual CMTS and DAA nodes, selecting Harmonic to upgrade its HFC network and prepare for future 40 upgrades.
Harmonic’s success was not limited to the U.S. The company won a multimillion-dollar RFP from what it says is a leading European operator, as well as another win from an international Tier 1 operator.
Ben-Natan said, “both partnered with Harmonic to power their next-generation broadband transformation.”
Broadband leads revenue
Led by gains in broadband, Harmonic reported revenue of $142.2 million, down year over year from $195.8 million in the third quarter of 2024.
Broadband segment revenue was $90.5 million, compared to $145.3 million in the prior year period. Video segment revenue was $51.9 million, up slightly from $50.4 million in 2024. The vendor’s cOS™ solution has been deployed by 142 customers, serving 37.6 million cable modems. It also won six new broadband customers during the quarter, including two fiber customers and one international Tier 1 provider.
In the quarter, one customer accounted for more than 10% of total revenue: Comcast at 43%.
Ben-Natan said the third quarter results were “driven by strong unified RPD and fiber product shipments, along with year-over-year growth in broadband rest of world and continued strong video performance across both appliances and SaaS streaming.”
As Unified 4.0 technology progresses, customer ramp readiness improves, and Harmonic has forecast revenue growth in broadband in 2026 of between $85 million and $95 million.
The company said this broadband guidance includes an estimated tariff impact of less than $1 million on fourth-quarter margins, similar to what it saw in the third quarter, based on current tariff rates and announced exemptions. For its video segment, Harmonic expects revenue of $48 million to $52 million.
Walter Jankovic, CFO of Harmonic, said, “Given the timing of the DOCSIS 4.0 transition and macroeconomic conditions, similar to last quarter, we're taking a prudent approach to our Q4 guidance.”
For related articles, visit the Business Topic Center.
For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.
To stay abreast of fiber network deployments, subscribe to Lightwave’s Service Providers and Datacom/Data Center newsletters.
About the Author
Sean Buckley
Sean is responsible for establishing and executing the editorial strategy of Lightwave across its website, email newsletters, events, and other information products.