said by videomatic3:Why would they upgrade it now if its not 4.0 compatible?
Because bandwidth consumption increases DO NOT STOP. They can't wait for D4.0 to be ready.
D3.0 and D3.1 still have many bandwidth increases that can be performed over the next few years through frequency expansion and OFDM(A) channel adds, which can be done when the last mile distribution plant is ready for them. Node service areas can also be reduced so they're not Node+5 serving 2000 homes, but node+0 serving 60 homes or segmented node+0 serving 15 homes each. There is no great need to jump straight to D4.0 right now.
said by videomatic3:I was told they are putting in rphy nodes, but I guess I don't really know what they are or what they do
R-PHY basically moves the RF generating electronics and all the coax out of the headend/hub and into the local nodes. It's (optical) ethernet to the node. RF performance goes WAY up when that is done, which allows higher modulation rates and even more bandwidth capacity over the same channels. R-PHY makes the system all IP data all the way up to the node. It's a huge shift for cable providers networks. It allows removal of most of the proprietary RF systems and equipment out of local hubs. They become more like data centers with commodity gear than traditional cable hubs.
D4.0 requires much of the same work node+0 R-PHY nodes need to be in place before D4.0 can really be used, so they might as well do it now and be closer to being ready.
