System leakage monitoring and detection in a Low-Split and Mid-Split world involves detecting leakage of transmissions originating from a CMTS, CCAP, R-MACPHY node and R-PHY node. Legacy methods for accomplishing this have been in place for many years and are well-understood.
In Low and Mid-Split scenarios, the aeronautical band from 108 MHz to 137 MHz lies within the downstream spectral band. With DOCSIS® 3.1 High-Split and DOCSIS 4.0 Ultra-High Split, the aeronautical band will fall within the upstream spectral band. As a result, system leakage monitoring and detection in High-Split and Ultra-High Split scenarios involves detecting leakage of transmissions that originate from a cable modem (CM). This requires a completely new way of approaching the problem.
The cable industry has made significant recent progress analyzing the alternatives available to solve the High-Split and Ultra-High Split leakage detection problem, specifying the necessary support in industry standards, and validating in laboratory and controlled outdoor environments. This paper discusses the progress that has been made on the most promising of these alternatives which has now become part of the DOCSIS 3.1 specifications.