Cable operators are now actively converging video and data services into a common CCAP platform. And, as the usage of narrowcast services continues its seamlessly exponential growth, the evolution of the access network progresses relentlessly towards ever-smaller service groups. This results in a continuous growth of headend equipment, which will soon far exceed the capacity that facilities can support.
Therefore, the above trends are now intractably linked to two additional evolutions: distribution of components of the access network, and virtualization of the core network functions.