Performance analysis in cable networks based on channel measurements with SDRs

DVB-C2 - DVB´s second generation broadcasting standard for cable networks - introduces the modulation scheme Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) to transmission standards for cable networks. Besides increased flexibility for the utilization of the available spectrum, OFDM also offers an increased spectral efficiency by using broadband OFDM signals. Moreover, DVB-C2 allows for QAM sizes up to 4096-QAM to exploit the capabilities of state-of-the-art cable networks. In contrast to DVB-C which uses single carrier modulation, the application of OFDM in combination with 4096-QAM changes the relevance of many channel characteristics. However, as most cable measurement devices are fixed on single carrier modulation, they cannot measure many parameters that are important for DVB-C2. Therefore, this paper introduces a measurement system based on a Software-Defined-Radio (SDR), which is able to measure import channel parameters for DVB-C and DVB-C2.