IEEE Project 802.14: standards for digital convergence

The resurgence of interest in the combination of fiber and coaxial cable has led it to the acronym HFC, for hybrid fiber-coaxial, since it is no longer just the province of cable TV. Many telephone operating companies in North America, Europe, and Asia are moving rapidly to install this type of cable plant, both for its high capacity and for its relative simplicity and ease of maintenance. This is both to provide conventional telephone service, TV distribution, and the emerging information services that come under the information highway umbrella. In response, last year the IEEE 802.6 committee spun off a new group, Project 802.14, devoted to providing standards for the use of the HFC cable plant in supporting both traditional and new services