By Light Reading
Publication Date: 2026-04-29 19:45:00
Like many other “cable” operators, Optimum Communications has a multi-pronged approach to the access network.
For years, Optimum (formerly known as Altice USA) has been aggressive with fiber, overbuilding its hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) network with fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) in growing portions of its footprint in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. In a good chunk of those former Cablevision Systems markets, the company is offering symmetrical speeds of up to 8 Gbit/s.
In its more rural, Western footprint, including many systems that used to be part of Suddenlink, Optimum is focused on DOCSIS 3.1 network upgrades.
Virtualization enters the mix
While both access options provide the speeds and feeds that most customers need today, Optimum is starting to take a hard look at virtualization in the access network. One goal is to see if the move will improve the operations of its HFC network to not only increase speed but also deliver better reliability for its expanding FTTP network.
“The reliability tends to be in general a little bit better [with FTTP] because you don’t have as many active devices” as are present with HFC, said Optimum COO Nate Edwards. “A lot of it is power-related.”
Optimum Communications COO Nate Edwards. (Source: Optimum Communications)
To improve the operations of its HFC network, Optimum is upgrading to a distributed access architecture (DAA) and deploying a virtual…
