Based on products from InCoax Networks, a member of MoCA®, the high-speed connectivity networking standard MoCA Access™ 2.5 and fiber termination standard FTTep, PCs for People®, a nonprofit network service provider offering equitable broadband networking installations and management, was able to design and install secure fiber broadband gigabit networking and connectivity performance to all 256 Stoneridge apartment homes over 13 complexes as well as at the learning center and pool house.

Reuse of existing coax connectivity networks in each building and self-install of InCoax’s MoCA Access™ 2.5 coax to Ethernet bridges connected to a wireless router meant no apartment required additional visits from installers. Self-install also decreased installation costs and limited contact with tenants during COVID-19.

Stoneridge Apartments install specs

The installation process connected the newly laid underground fiber trunk fiber to a fiber switch at each of the 13 apartment buildings in addition to the pool house and learning center. InCoax MoCA Access™ 2.5 Control Units were mounted in the buildings’ 13 outdoor wall cabinets, where the coax cable network originated and connected the fiber to the coax network that extends to each apartment’s coaxial cable outlet. In-home access modems were then connected to the existing coax outlets, which were self-installed by the tenants. The coax outlet is situated near the media hub at the heart of the apartment, making additional apartment wiring unnecessary.

Reusing the coaxial network with a point-to-point (home run) connection from basement or outdoor cabinet to each living unit provided multi-gigabit capacity. Fiber access extension technology from TR-419 and MoCA Access™, acting as a fiber extension coaxial cabling bridge from wired to wireless with integrated provisioning and management, allowed install costs to be lowered from the previously calculated $440 per apartment to $125 per apartment.  By partnering with PCs for People, Stoneridge Apartments now has symmetrical high-speed broadband Internet of 1 gigabit per second, thanks to PCs for People’s application of InCoax Networks’ products based on the MoCA Access™ 2.5 standard and BBF’s TR-419 standard.

Summary

There are a variety of ways coaxial cable can be installed in affordable housing, MTE, and MDU scenarios, from the home-run wiring scheme defined in this article to configurations in which several apartments share the same coax drop on the same floor of a building. Standards from MoCA® and BBF® work in a variety of coaxial configurations; providing gigabit speeds and installation cost reduction benefits that resolve the connectivity challenges of metro area MDUs, MTEs, and affordable housing complexes.

This article features input from:
Helge Tiainen, Vice President of Marketing, InCoax Networks
Tom Esselman, PCs for People, Executive Director - Kansas City, MO
Mike Voss, DOMINIUM, Director of Communications, Development