Remote Monitoring of RF Amplifiers in HFC Networks: Voltage Drop Detection due to Power Blackouts

Hybrid Fiber–Coaxial (HFC) networks are widely used around the world to deliver voice, video, and data services. These networks are made up of both passive and active elements, most of which are managed remotely by the network operation centers. However, RF amplifiers do not have a mechanism to notify metrics or alarms that allow network operators to segment and locate the point of failure in an efficient and timely manner. This means that subscribers first detect the fault before the network operator, translating into an increase in complaints to the call center. This paper proposes an electronic system for remote monitoring of RF amplifiers in an HFC network that detects voltage drops due to power outages and notifies an alarm to the technical support staff. The results show that the designed device efficiently detects the voltage drop and sends the alarm notification through a text message, contributing to improve response times to subscribers when this type of incident occurs.