Vecima Networks ‘GAP’ node appears to be the first to support “New Radio over Coax” (NRoC), allowing 5G signals on HFC networks:
Vecima puts ‘New Radio over Coax’ in sight with 4GHz-capable node
Vecima’s new compact, standardized ‘GAP’ node supports DOCSIS and PON today, but the product’s roadmap also includes New Radio over Coax (NRoC), a cable industry project focused on delivering 5G on HFC.
By Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading - June 6, 2025
https://www.lightreading.com/cable-technology/vecima-puts-new-radio-over-coax-in-sight-with-4ghz-capable-node
Vecima Networks appears to be the first supplier to reference support for “New Radio over Coax” (NRoC), a concept being explored by a segment of the cable industry that’s interested in running 5G signals on hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) networks.
A reference to NRoC was tucked away in Vecima’s launch this week of the Entra EN3400 Compact Generic Access Platform (GAP). GAP is a Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) standard covering distributed access architecture (DAA) node housings and interfaces for service modules that can be plugged in like Lego blocks. Initial service modules are focused on DOCSIS and PON, but they can also be adapted for wireless (Wi-Fi, 5G, etc.) and edge compute.
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Support for 4GHz is intriguing as it fits the potential path that cable operators might take with DOCSIS and NRoC. The current version of Broadcom’s “unified” D4.0 chips for modems, amps and nodes supports HFC built to 1.8GHz. However, Broadcom, Comcast and Charter execs revealed last fall at the SCTE Tech Expo in Atlanta that Broadcom’s chips could be made to support spectrum up to 3GHz. Support for spectrum up to 4GHz appears to fit hand-in-glove with the NRoC concept.