SCTE’s Hybrid Management Sub-Layer subcommittee adopted three new standards that support interoperable management systems for evolving HFC cable networks.
The three standards — HMS 005, Hybrid Fiber/Coax Outside Plant Monitoring-Physical Layer Specification; HMS 004, Hybrid Fiber Coax Outside Plant Monitoring-MAC Layer Specification; and HMS 022, Hybrid Fiber/Coax Outside Plant Monitoring-Power Supply- to-Transponder Interface Specification — are expected to get SCTE approval and reach the American National Standards Institute by the end of the year. ANSI approval is expected in February.
“They’ve been working on them for longer than I’ve been here, and that’s more than a year,” says SCTE spokesman Steve Oksala. “So it’s not quick.”
He adds that the subcommittee has been resolving comments for a few months and the completion is “a big milestone for them.”
The new specifications “support the design and implementation of interoperable management systems for evolving HFC cable networks,” says subcommittee Chair Esteban Sandino, in a statement. “They will enable interoperability between outside plant transponders and headend controllers from multiple vendors.”
Oksala said he couldn’t comment on any other subcommittee projects.
Other standards programs at the organization include those for data standards, digital video, construction and maintenance, emergency alert systems, interface practices, cable applications platform, and material management and inventory.
SCTE has more than 100 standards members, it says, including MSOs, vendors and allied organizations.
SCTE is accredited by ANSI and is recognized by the International Telecommunications Union, which lets SCTE standards be referenced by the ITU.