Utilizing the advanced technology offered by Safecom's Patented Power Booster, it is now possible to reduce the number of Power Supplies (PS) in CATV networks.
The Patented Power Booster is a passive device that dynamically increases the voltage at its output while reducing the current, thereby keeping the voltage on a constant level regardless of the fluctuations in the network.
While networks were originally designed with full utilization in mind, they evolved and fiber (FTTx) gradually expanded, resulting in non-optimized powering designs. It is estimated that up to 20% of the network’s Power Suppliers operate in loads of less then 4A. On average (depending on topology), a network of one million home-pass requires approximately 5000 Power Supplies. With Safecom’s Power Booster, that number could be reduced by 1000.. Such a dramatic reduction in the number of less-loaded PS would greatly affect CAPEX, and because of the reduced need for maintenance, would also minimize OPEX. Furthermore, because of the Power Booster’s ability to increase the voltage and its form-factor, Operators would not need to deploy new Power Supplies as they expand their network. They could now deploy Safecom’s Power Booster without having to add street cabinets, or obtain municipal permits, and without increasing their maintenance expense.
With the expansion of Fiber in HFC networks, more and more coax cables are left unused and often converted by Operators to serve as powering cables. This creates an opportunity to use Safecom’s Power Booster, since it can deployed on FTTx topologies, reducing the need for new Power Supplies.
In the example below, a 3.5A loaded Power Supply is replaced by Safecom’s Power Booster. Additional low loaded power supply was installed due to the well known "low voltage" problem that occurs in HFC networks. When trying to feed the network segment including trunks "C" , "A" and its neighbors, the voltage level drops well below 60V at the amplifier "AAA" which leads to power instability. Power Booster allows to solve this problem and to avoid installing new power supply, while maintaining excellent voltage levels (in this case – 87.2V at the amplifier "AAA"). Power Booster expands the cable network reach (in this case – more than 5300 ft(!!) from the power insertion point). This example demonstrates how CATV Operators could benefit both from the reduction of low-load PS as well as improve their network capability to support remote amplifiers.