Entropic, soon to be acquired by MaxLinear, has landed what may turn out to be one of its biggest deals ever for its MoCA chips. China Telecom subsidiary Sichuan Telecom, will deploy Ethernet-to Coax Adapters (ECA) with a new Entropic MoCA chip to distribute IP-delivered pay TV and other services over the home’s existing coax wiring. Sichuan Telecom is the first Chinese pay TV service to deploy MoCA gear. It operates in the whole Sichuan area.
Sichuan Telecom’s ECA solution is straightforward plug-and-play. In effect, it converts a home’s existing coax wiring into an Ethernet network. The user plugs the ECA into the home’s coax network and plugs the TV into the ECA’s Ethernet connection. Voila! The TV has access to Sichuan Telecom’s pay TV service and other broadband-delivered services such as OTT and gaming.
Entropic says the MoCA ECAs are “a cost-effective way to bring Internet access to all connected entertainment devices in the home by converting the existing in-home coaxial wiring into an Ethernet network, without having to run multiple cables.” In addition to pay TV, the adapters “can improve whole-home video and data coverage by extending the wired network backbone to all corners of the home in order to distribute HD and UHD media, low latency online gaming, over-the-top (OTT)/Internet content and wireless entertainment anywhere in the home.”
Entropic’s SVP for global marketing said, “Deployment of MoCA technology by Sichuan Telecom represents the first telco deployment of MoCA in China, a significant milestone, demonstrating that MoCA is truly becoming a global standard. China’s telecom operators represent a large untapped market for MoCA enabled products and this is just the beginning of Entropic’s efforts to see MoCA used pervasively throughout China.”
Entropic’s biggest market for its MoCA chip has been US cablecos plus Verizon and DirecTV. Other than Verizon, this is MoCA’s first announced success with a major telco. Whether the deal might lead to China Telecom’s adoption of MoCA can only be conjectured.
China Telecom is China’s largest broadband service provider. In June 2014 it announced that it would use G.hn (HomeGrid) home network chips in its STBs and support G.hn-equipped TV sets from several Chinese set makers. That led to our prediction that China Telecom might emerge as the world’s largest deployer of home networking gear in general and specifically G.hn. Products with G.hn chips from Marvell, Sigma Design, Metanoia and perhaps from Xingtera were expected to be used — or at least tested.
This first ran in Rider Research’s Online Reporter.