Architecture and Performance of A MAC Protocol for The HFC System

The IEEE 802.14 standard committee is currently working on a project to find a costeffective means of providing access to integrated networks for people to enjoy multimedia programs and to work at home. An advanced system based on the CATV system called Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) is being studied. Since some properties of the HFC system preclude the possibility of directly using existing medium access control (MAC) protocols for its data link layer, a MAC scheme based on time division is discussed in this paper. This MAC scheme can be extended for wireless networks. Key words: MAC, HFC, ATM, Multimedia, SCCA/TD 1. Introduction As ATM technology progresses, researchers are looking for a cost-effective means of providing home access to integrated networks so that people can enjoy multimedia programs and work at home. Due to the large geographical coverage of existing CATV systems, an advanced system based on CATV called Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) is being studied by the IEEE 802.14 Project Com..