Cable Operator's Access Architecture from Aggregation to Disaggregation and Distributed

This paper tracks the cable industry's road from disaggregated centralized access layer network element functions like separate layer 2 CMTS, routers, and edge QAM equipment to the aggregation of combining CMTS and router functions to disaggregated centralized Modular Headend Architecture to the complete aggregation of nearly all centralized access layer equipment and functions like CMTS, eQAM, PON, routers in a single element called Integrated-CCAP (I-CCAP) to the complete disaggregation of nearly all access layer equipment and functions with the Remote PHY Architecture and Flexible MAC Architecture.