Broadband Cable Access Networks

Chapter 6. Linear Microwave Signal Transportation

6.1. Introduction

Although linear amplitude-modulated fiber-optic links are the favored trunking methodology for most applications, there are situations where they are simply not cost-effective. For example, physical barriers, such as waterways, may make cable construction very expensive. Alternatively, the network may need to serve several small outlying communities that are so widely separated that the cost of the interconnecting links affects the economic viability of the project. Finally, network operators sometimes need to transport signals through areas where rights-of-way are either unavailable or very expensive to acquire. In any of these cases, point-to-point or point-to-multipoint broadband ...