By Kathy Binns Program Delivery Director Comcast Cable John Schlack Distinguished Architect Comcast Cable Rina Hayashi Senior Director, Product Management Comcast Cable
Network design tools have struggled to keep pace with the ever-evolving demands of the cable industry. The need for frequent updates due to new construction, technologies and network expansion has highlighted the limitation of existing design tools. An access network design tool that is tailored to address the unique challenges of the cable industry was needed.
The program focuses on incorporating innovative technologies and setting up the product to leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning easily. This will improve the access network design operations. By leveraging agile development processes and working closely with network design stakeholders, our new access network design tool aims to alleviate the inefficiency and restrictive tendencies of existing tools. Through painstaking design and development, we worked to create a seamless user experience that would be least disruptive to our user community.
This document outlines the challenges of existing tools, along with designing, developing, and deploying a tool specific to access network design. We highlight the key milestones and challenges faced along the way of working on this five-year journey.