In a CSI Digital Summer 2026 article, Dell’Oro Group VP Jeff Heynen examines how US cable operators are responding to intensifying broadband competition from fiber and fixed wireless access (FWA). As Comcast and Charter lose residential broadband subscribers, both operators are accelerating multi-year DOCSIS 4.0, mid-split, and high-split network upgrades to improve upload speeds, latency, and reliability. Heynen argues that cable’s long-term advantage may lie beyond raw bandwidth, with operators transforming their networks into intelligent edge compute platforms optimized for AI-driven services, proactive network maintenance, and low-latency customer experiences. The article explores how virtualization, distributed access architectures, and AI-enabled telemetry are reshaping cable’s competitive positioning.
With the big squeeze for cable well and truly underway, the current cable network upgrade cycle isn’t just about the jump to mid-split, high-split, or even DOCSIS 4.0, it’s about adding intelligence at every network layer to create a multi-tiered platform for AI, argues Jeff Heynen of the Dell’Oro Group
Download the full paper via the CSI Digital magazine website.
