Complete Story
06/20/2017
MCTV Pushes Fiber-to-the-Premises Overlay with ‘Excellerate’ Initiative
Following a deep analysis of its next-generation network options, MCTV has opted to go with an ambitious fiber-to-the-premises deployment that will result in a GPON network that will overlay its existing hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) plant.
The initiative, branded by MCTV as “Excellerate,” will initially focus on speedy broadband services and will essentially sidestep a move to DOCSIS 3.1, the new gigabit-class technology for HFC networks. Altice USA is plowing ahead with a similar strategy in its Optimum footprint (the systems acquired from Cablevision Systems) and the bulk of the systems it acquired from Suddenlink Communications.
MCTV’s plan is to overlay its entire network with a GPON-based fiber-to-the-premises network over the next two to three years. The Massillon, Ohio-based operator, which serves more than 47,000 homes and businesses, announced Monday that its Excellerate-powered network is currently available to residential customers in “select areas” in Stark and Wayne counties in the northeastern part of the state. MCTV said it will notify customers when the new offering is available in their neighborhoods.
MCTV presented its plans earlier today at a conference featuring MCTV president Robert Gessner; Jonathan McGee, president of the Ohio Cable Telecommunication Association; Matt Polka, president and CEO of the American Cable Association (ACA); and U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH).
MCTV estimates that the Excellerate project encompasses a $20 million investment that will factor in 1,400 miles of fiber, 79,920 miles of “glass,” 220,000 hours of manpower, 120,000 splices, 14,000 drop enclosures, and 14 communities.
“The crux of this is to build our next-generation network,” Gessner said.
