5 QUESTIONS WITH AN EXPERT
AYHAM AL-BANNA, DISTINGUISHED SYSTEMS
ARCHITECT – CTO OFFICE
1. You’ve been working in the cable industry for the last 11
years, where do you think it is heading in the next 3-5 years?
Two words: Higher Performance! The cable industry went through many updates
over the last decade, and throughout my career I have witnessed the birth of
multiple standards that have increased both the capacity and scale of modems
and CMTSs. These include DOCSIS® 3.0, DOCSIS 3.1, CCAP, and Remote PHY.
With every new specification, the system densities and performance have improved. For example, DOCSIS 3.0 introduced the channel bonding feature that
enabled much higher peak rates per user. DOCSIS 3.1 brought modern PHY and
FEC technologies that lead to significant increases in system capacity. CCAP specifications increased the scale and density of the CMTS, and converged video and
data on the same port. Finally, remote PHY specifications are being created to
further increase system capacities by placing robust system functionality closer
to the end user. All of these improvements have meant higher performance for
the DOCSIS network, and this trend is likely to continue moving forward.
2. What challenges are you focused on addressing now?
As a systems architect in the CTO office at ARRIS, I primarily help guide the architecture and high-level design for the current
and future generations of our E6000 US Cable Access Modules. My work includes specifying the requirements for the features
that will be supported on the E6000 platform, working with teams in different business units to develop features for other ARRIS
products, representing ARRIS on the CableLabs committee to help guide the DOCSIS 3.1 PHY specification, supporting our product line management team with technical consultations to improve their customer meetings, performing research and publishing
papers at cable conferences, delivering technical presentations to customers, and providing training to ARRIS employees.
3. What’s the one tip you would give to someone looking to deploy D3.1?
Know your plant! DOCSIS 3.1 is all about capacity improvement via adopting the modern OFDM PHY and LDPC FEC technologies.
These technologies will enable support for high QAM modulation orders. In order to deploy these technologies effectively, it is
critical for the operator to be aware of the spectral locations where the plant is usable, and where it’s not. This is particularly
important because operators have to select a clean spectral region within the OFDM channel to place the PLC channel and NCP
subcarriers. Also, it is preferred to avoid strong permanent interference via subcarrier exclusion, rather than using FEC to overcome it. This frees up FEC to fix errors that result from unexpected noise conditions.
By being aware of the plant characteristics, operators can maximize their capacity through profile optimization and the use
of lower MSO SNR operating margins. Finally, operating plants with very high QAM modulation orders that are supported by
DOCSIS 3.1 yield a sensitive operational environment where plant awareness and maintenance is crucial.
4. What advice would you give to a new cable engineer?
First and foremost, I would say that the cable industry is interesting, challenging, and full of innovation. Whether it is better
access to information, more interesting forms of entertainment or fascinating new ways to communicate, being a cable engineer
lets you see the positive effects of your daily work on the lives of those around you. To me, the most important skill to develop
is an understanding of the HFC network architecture and its various implementations, since each minor change can have a
significant effect on network performance. Therefore, understanding the system level behavior and performance is a critical
building block.
5. What keeps you passionate about this industry today?
Without a doubt- the innovation. The constant pace of technology evolution in our industry means that I get to work on new
things just about every day. Being part of the ARRIS CTO office, I get to work on multiple projects with several teams across
various business units. This exposes me to different technical and research areas, and allows me to innovate and contribute in
multiple ways. Sharing the knowledge inside ARRIS via technical training and outside of ARRIS via white papers, presentations
at major industry conferences and in customer meetings is another extremely rewarding part of my job. Finally, talking to the
people around me makes me further appreciate what I do by reminding me every day that the technologies I work on really can
provide a better quality of life to people around the globe.