TWC says it can bring gigabit internet to LA with D3.1 technology, which allows cable operators to deliver multi-gigabit speeds on hybrid fiber/coax networks
Jeff Baumgartner / Multichannel News :
Context & Ripple Effects
Time Warner Cable is answering a wave of gigabit threats without digging up Los Angeles: it says DOCSIS 3.1 lets cable operators push multi-gigabit speeds over the hybrid fiber/coax plant it already owns. The move follows a pattern from earlier in 2015, when TWC gave Charlotte customers a big speed boost at the same price after Google announced Fiber for that city.
First-order effects
- Los Angeles residents get a path to gigabit speeds over their existing coax connections, sparing TWC the cost of a citywide fiber build to match Google Fiber-class offerings.
Second-order effects
- Comcast, which has already committed its whole network to the same D3.1 upgrade and launched gigabit in Atlanta and Nashville, faces pressure to keep pace market by market; TWC's own pricing playbook from Charlotte — more speed for the same price — becomes the likely template against fiber and municipal rivals like the Chattanooga network Comcast now serves at 2Gbps.
Third-order effects
- If D3.1 delivers as promised, cable operators can hold off wholesale fiber-to-the-home replacement for years, shifting competition from infrastructure builds toward software-driven capacity on shared coax — while alternatives like AT&T's power-line-guided radio scheme show carriers hedging against cable's head start.
The trend: Cable operators are using DOCSIS 3.1 to turn their installed HFC plant into a gigabit-capable answer to fiber entrants, converting an aging asset into a competitive weapon rather than replacing it.