PPC blog

SCaTINDIA will mark its 27th year of operation this October 2018 with its annual three-day cable industry exhibition at the World Trade Center (WTC) in Mumbai, India.

This year's event is on track to attract in excess of 19,000 visitors and will feature products from more than 300 global cable professionals from throughout India, China, U.S. and Europe.

For broadband service providers and operators, the pressure is on to bring new, enhanced and high-quality products to market for quicker download speeds and improved picture and voice quality for subscribers.

Keeping pace relies on continuing innovation, a commitment to rigid quality standards and an appreciation that products must work in the real world, not just in the confines of a controlled testing laboratory.

Representatives from PPC Broadband will be joining industry leaders at the upcoming SCTE-ISBE Cable-Tec Expo in Atlanta, Georgia this October 22 to October 25, 2018.

The Expo is North America's largest cable telecom event, offering the opportunity for cable professionals to share technical knowledge and see first-hand demonstrations of state-of-the-art technology solutions.

The PPC Broadband team joined experts from across the international telecommunications and media industry to attend theANGA COM Exhibition and Conference in Cologne, Germany,12 June to 14 June, 2018.

The annual event, which is organized by the Association of German Cable Operators (ANGA), attracted a record500 exhibitors this year, and brought together innovations and insights from network operators, service providers and vendors from 36 countries.

As homeowners consume more and more content online, the efficiency of the in-home network becomes increasingly important.

However, the ability of a network to carry a data signal will only ever be as good as the integrity of its individual parts.

It comes as no surprise that in-home network radio frequency (RF) performance has a vital role to play in delivering services that meet consumers’ increasing demands for performance quality while also enabling operators to maintain control of costs.

The ever-increasing consumer demand for faster download speeds, and improved picture and voice quality means connections throughout the home network must perform perfectly.

Today’s coaxial connectors have to provide flawless signal transmission, able to accommodate the vast amounts of traffic traveling back and forth between provider and user. To be sure a coaxial connector is up for the task, it's important for service providers to choose connectors that have been through vigorous testing and can prove their effectiveness, especially when the connection is less than finger-tight.

Hardline coax connectors are some of the most important pieces to delivering service to a subscriber’s home network, so making sure the connectors and cables are prepped and installed properly is vital to network performance.

Hardline cable is used from the headend through the trunk and feeder lines, to the subscriber’s home, and there are many connectors used at the fiber node, amplifiers, line extenders and multitaps.

The quality of components used in drop networks and the skillfulness of the drop installation play a major part in a subscriber’s network performance. But what happens when those parts are out of date?

The parts visible from the headend to the side of the home, and components from the wall plate to the CPE (customer premise equipment), may be brand new and installed properly, but that doesn’t mean most of the premise wiring is up to date.

Cable taps that are being left empty and open on telephone poles are causing problems for TV service providers and technicians. This can be due to a number of reasons, for example if a subscriber cancels their service or a newly-installed tap does not have enough neighborhood subscribers to fill the ports.

These unused ports are becoming a problem because of corrosion from moisture, and noise from RF egress and ingress, but could be solved with the use of a terminator.

Terminators are simple devices that electrically terminate RF coaxial ports both inside and outside of the home. The use of terminators can help protect nearby broadband networks from noise, avoid corrosion of ports and enable technicians to easily decipher the availability of a port.

TV and Internet service providers are always looking for ways to help improve the customer experience of their broadband network, while keeping costs as low as possible.

Proper on-site training for technicians and maintenance teams is key to achieving both of these goals and correcting any bad habits before they turn into problems.

This is easy to say, but is it easy to do? Here are some practical thoughts on using training to your advantage.

Reduce costs with thorough network installation training

It might seem obvious that all new employees need some training, but it should go far beyond basic training and customer service tips. Technicians and maintenance teams need to learn how to properly install all products they are working with, and how to troubleshoot quickly and efficiently, reducing the amount of time and resources spent in the field.