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“Cable” Doesn’t Equal “Coax”: How Coherent PON Is Redefining Fiber in 2025

The future of cable is fiber. Discover how CPON is redefining network capacity, reach, and cost-efficiency across the telecom industry in 2025.

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The Fiber Revolution Is Here—and It’s More Than Just Faster Internet

Introduc

For decades, many associated the word “cable” with coaxial cable—insulated copper lines that powered our televisions and broadband connections. But in 2025, the industry knows better: fiber is the true backbone of next-generation cable networks. And it’s not just a supporting role anymore.

Thanks to emerging technologies like Coherent Passive Optical Networks (CPON), the potential of fiber optics is reaching new heights—dramatically increasing bandwidth, extending network reach, and enabling smarter, scalable infrastructure for homes, businesses, and government deployments.

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From Coax to Fiber: The Industry’s Natural Evolution

While hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) networks have been the standard for years, operators are now transitioning from analog to digital systems, pushing fiber deeper into their infrastructure. In many cases, that fiber reaches all the way to the end user—what’s known as fiber to the premises (FTTP), typically delivered through passive optical networks (PON).

This transformation allows:

More scalable bandwidth
Enhanced network reliability
Support for future-proof applications
Improved customer experiences

Fiber's increasing importance was on full display at SCTE TechExpo 2024, where sessions covered FTTP deployment, PON operations, and an exciting innovation on the horizon: Coherent PON (CPON).

What Is CPON—and Why Does It Matter?

Coherent PON (CPON) is a breakthrough fiber optic architecture introduced by CableLabs in 2023. Unlike traditional PON systems, CPON uses coherent detection—a technology that increases network capacity and reach by boosting spectral efficiency.

Key features include:

Up to 100 Gbps on a single wavelength
Support for up to 512 users per split
Reach up to 80 kilometers, ideal for rural or expansive deployments
Compatibility with existing DWDM fiber systems
Use cases across residential broadband, enterprise access, DOCSIS 4.0 aggregation, and xHaul for mobile networks

In short, CPON is designed to bring data-center-grade performance to the access network—cost-effectively and at scale.

Inside the Vision: How CPON Will Reshape Network Design

At TechExpo 2024, industry experts unveiled what a real CPON deployment might look like, based on a technical paper titled “What Could You Do With 100 Gbps Coherent PON?”. This vision includes:

Tunable wavelengths in the C-band
Compatibility with DWDM fiber backbones
Network-wide upgrades without a full rip-and-replace
Smarter aggregation points for Remote PHY and mobile xHaul equipment
Cost-effective expansion for both cable and non-cable operators

Other sessions explored practical concerns like reducing ONU costs, managing burst transmissions, and maintaining system resilience—all essential for scaling CPON beyond theory and into reality.

Looking Ahead: From Specification to Deployment

The CableLabs CPON Working Group continues to refine specifications, incorporating proposals from manufacturers, operators, and engineers across the ecosystem. While the final blueprint is still in progress, one thing is clear: fiber—and CPON in particular—is the future of cable infrastructure.

If you’re a telecom professional, integrator, or infrastructure strategist, now is the time to start understanding where CPON fits into your network roadmap.

Want to talk about how fiber and CPON can reshape your infrastructure strategy?

Connect with ACG to explore scalable, future-ready solutions designed for performance, reach, and ROI.

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