Microwave system specifications have evolved from either handbook criteria or rigorous requirements for common carrier systems. While SSB and FM systems have been designed to satisfy some of the unique needs of CATV systems, in many instances there are not suitable design criteria or off-the-shelf equipment available.
Standards tailored for the industry can lead to the development of systems optimized for CATV.
One item which should be looked at is consideration of fade margins for CATV. What is a realistic acceptable outage? What are the resulting appropriate fade margins for specific path lengths? This paper focuses areas where industry action can result in more economic systems.