FBA proposes blueprint for cable networks' fiber to the home transition
It’s clear that cable MSOs are at a market crossroads, with competitive pressures from fiber overbuilders and fixed wireless access (FWA) prompting them to consider a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) path.
While cable had a clear advantage for several years, with strong quarterly broadband subscriber growth as traditional telcos saw their copper-based DSL base erode due to slower speeds, losses began in 2023 and have accelerated into 2025 and 2026, driven by competition from FTTH service providers.
Consider the most recent quarter, in which the two largest cable operators—Comcast and Charter—saw declines in their broadband subscriber bases. Comcast reported losing 65,000 broadband subscribers, while Charter lost 120,000 subscribers.
A new Fiber Broadband Association analysis--Upgrading MSO Networks to Fiber to the Home (FTTH): A Technical Perspective--examines how MSOs can transition from hybrid fiber-coaxial networks to FTTH infrastructure to meet bandwidth demand.
FBA’s Technology Committee developed the paper examining deployment models, technology options, and operational considerations for Multiple System Operators (MSOs) evaluating long-term network upgrades.
The technical analysis also outlines several deployment approaches available to MSOs, including greenfield FTTH overbuilds, phased “fiber deepening” strategies that gradually replace coaxial segments, and full network overbuilds that transition entire systems to fiber.
Given the fact that transitioning to fiber is a multi-stage process, FBA also offers several considerations for MSOs planning the transition, including workforce training, fiber network management, OSS/BSS integration, and customer premises equipment deployment.
Cable fiber benefits
By migrating to fiber-based broadband, cable operators can gain several benefits for their broadband business units.
For one, a fiber broadband network benefits from higher ARPU and lower churn.
FTTH subscriber APRU is $73–$74 as compared to $70.50 for HFC subscribers. Cable could also achieve higher gains on subscriber retention. FBA noted that in markets where fiber is offered today, 36% of net two-year churn migrates to fiber, while HFC loses 23% over the same period.
“These figures underscore a compounding competitive dynamic: MSOs that delay FTTH migration not only face higher operational costs but also structurally lower revenue per subscriber and accelerating churn in markets where fiber is being deployed by competitors,” wrote FBA in its study.
Deployment options
Cable MSOs have several deployment scenarios to consider when migrating to FTTH.
There are three main strategies--a greenfield overbuild, a phased “fiber deepening” strategy that selectively replaces coaxial segments and full network overbuilds that transition entire systems to fiber:
· Greenfield FTTH Overbuild: In this scenario, a cable operator can build a new FTTH network alongside its existing HFC network, enabling it to deliver FTTH services in certain areas or to new subscribers while not interrupting existing HFC DOCSIS services. However, FBA noted that this “model requires significant upfront capital investment and careful planning to avoid overbuilding in the same footprint.”
· Selective Fiber Deepening and Replacement: Allowing for a phased transition, a cable operator could bring fiber closer to each end customer and then decide to replace certain coax plant segments with fiber. Cable operators can leverage Remote PHY (R-PHY) and Remote MAC-PHY (R-MACPHY), which push more active equipment closer to the customer and reduces the length of the coaxial segment.
· Full fiber overbuilds: While this scenario is the most capital-intensive approach, it provides the cleanest transition to a future-proof network based on fiber. However, because cable operators would be replacing an existing network with a new FTTH architecture, planning would be required to prevent service disruptions to existing customers.
Coexistence strategies
As a cable MSO enters a fiber transition period where they would have to run parallel HFC and FTTH networks, they can implement various coexistence strategies:
• Physical Separation: This approach, which calls for a cable operator to deploy a separate fiber infrastructure for FTTH alongside the coax network, has the benefit of being straightforward, but requires a large amount of upfront capital.
• Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM): By using different wavelengths of light on the same fiber to carry both the legacy HFC signals and the PON signals, a cable operator can reuse existing fiber infrastructure. The only drawback is that it requires careful wavelength planning and filtering.
• Overlay Networks: Building a completely new FTTH network that gradually takes over subscribers from the HFC network, allowing for a phased migration and minimizes disruption to existing services.
MSOs find FTTH utility
Cable MSOs of varying sizes are finding increasing utility in migrating to FTTH.
Today, however, the most aggressive players making this move have been regional cable providers like Ohio’s MCTV and Wide Open West.
Massillon, Ohio-based MCTV, which serves more than 57,000 homes and businesses across Ohio and West Virginia, has been seeing the benefits of migrating from HFC to fiber.
What drove MCTV to consider a fiber transition in 2016-2017 was the realization that its current HFC system could not meet future bandwidth needs, so it had to rebuild with either FTTH or DOCSIS 3.1.
“For us, fiber was the winner due to the reduced need for future whole system rebuilds, reduced maintenance and costs,” said Katherine Gessner, President of MCTV. “Aerial construction was completed in 2020 and underground construction is wrapping up in the next few months. In mid-2024, we decided to make a concerted push to complete the project within the next 2-3 years.”
Katherine Gessner, President of MCTV, said fiber became the right choice because it offered a range of cost and operational benefits.
“For us, fiber was the winner due to the reduced need for future whole system rebuilds, reduced maintenance and costs,” she said. “Aerial construction was completed in 2020 and underground construction is wrapping up in the next few months. In mid-2024, we decided to make a concerted push to complete the project within the next 2-3 years.”
As the cable MSO found that running a separate HFC and FTTH network was becoming “burdensome,” Gessner said MCTV took a phased approach, targeting “specific neighborhoods for conversions, specifically where we could turn off power supplies to shut down the HFC plant.”
Since the beginning of 2025, MCTV has turned off 250 power supplies. MCTV’s Excellerate Fiber service is now available to 80%+ of its homes passed and 70% of its customers are on fiber service.
Other regional cable operators like WOW, which serves homes and businesses in 20 markets, including in Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, have been continuing to expand their fiber reach.
WOW, which was purchased by DigitalBridge and Crestview Partners in January, has surpassed 100,000 fiber homes passed in its Greenfield markets as of last September. This milestone brings the cable operator closer to reaching its goal of passing 400,000 fiber homes in new communities in the coming years.
Expanding fiber remains a priority for WOW. It recently expanded fiber to more than 10,000 additional homes and businesses in Greenville County, South Carolina and 17,000 new homes and businesses in East Central Michigan.
Likewise, municipally owned providers like Elberton Utilities in Elberton, Georgia, are finding value in migrating from HFC to all-fiber. Elberton is a full-service provider. Besides providing essential community services such as electricity, natural gas, water, wastewater, and solid waste/recycling, provided by Elberton Utilities, Elberton is also a cable operator that provides high-speed internet, cable TV, and other broadband services through its department, ElbertonNET.
As it began facing new competitive threats from AT&T and Comcast, which were enhancing its network builds in the area, Elberton decided that an all-fiber route was more viable than moving to the next iteration of DOCSIS.
Working with ZCorum, a provider of managed services and diagnostics for broadband providers, the city will deploy Nokia’s next-generation fiber solutions and core IP routing technology as part of a broader modernization initiative that will replace its aging hybrid fiber-coaxial network.
“We’re at a crossroads where we’re maxed out with older technology on a legacy system,” said Kevin Eavenson, Interim City Manager at City of Elberton. “We had a decision to make: stay on the platform we have and max it out while our competitors are getting ahead of us, but with the help of our broadband division and ZCorum, we’re committed to providing this service.”
Broadband access equipment set for 2026 growth
The broadband access equipment market rose 7% sequentially and 2% year-over-year to to $4.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. Dell’Oro Group noted that while increased spending in the quarter was not enough to push 2025 into positive Y/Y growth, it was an early indicator of what is expected to be a strong 2026. The research group noted that PON ONT unit shipments reached 158 million, with nearly all regions reporting wide year-over-year gains to support new subscriber growth. Alternatively, DOCSIS infrastructure declined 21 percent from 2024, with spending on Remote PHY Devices dropping 47 percent for the year. However, Dell’Oro noted that spending is expected to increase significantly throughout 2026, as major MSOs accelerate their DAA and DOCSIS 4.0 upgrades.
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Sean Buckley
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