Across the cable industry, operators are facing a troubling reality: deliberate attacks on broadband infrastructure are increasing at an alarming rate. In just the second half of 2024, more than 5,700 intentional incidents disrupted connectivity for over 1.5 million customers. These disruptions are not minor inconveniences—they interrupt 911 access, compromise hospital systems, stall schools, and impact government operations.
The challenge is compounded by the need to manage legacy infrastructure in the face of these evolving threats. Operators are forced to contend with higher costs, greater complexity, and mounting operational pressure. Meeting these challenges requires more than yesterday’s tools. Resilience must be engineered directly into the access network. That’s why AOI’s product design is not only forward-looking but also aligned with the principles championed by the new STRIKE initiative: continuity, adaptability, and proactive defense.
Uniting the industry to safeguard broadband networks
STRIKE, co-led by SCTE® and NCTA, is the cable industry’s collective response to escalating security threats. Its mission is clear: raise awareness of network vandalism as a national security issue, establish and align best practices, and mobilize both industry and government toward sustainable solutions.
The initiative underscores that broadband networks are critical infrastructure—just as vital as energy grids and water systems. For AOI, this means ensuring operators have access to solutions designed with national importance in mind.
Quantum18: Resilient amplification by design
The Quantum18 family—amplifiers, line extenders, and boosters—was built for environments where downtime is simply not an option. These devices:
- Meet and exceed SCTE 279 standards
- Extend downstream capacity to 1.8 GHz and support common upstream splits
- Feature field-upgradeable diplex filters, enabling rapid adaptation as spectrum needs shift
- Offer backward compatibility with legacy housings, reducing downtime and avoiding costly re-architecture
- Utilize low-power LoRaWAN technology for secure, long-range telemetry, enabling efficient monitoring and control in distributed HFC environments
- Provide software updates with built-in failback support, ensuring continuous operation during remote firmware upgrades
- Include Digital Twin operation in the roadmap, allowing operators to model amplifier performance virtually, simulate configurations, and predict network behavior before deployment
With Quantum18, operators can restore service faster, keep networks stable under stress, and strengthen their plant against both intentional and unintentional disruptions.
QuantumLink: Remote management for faster recovery
Resilience isn’t just about rugged hardware—it’s also about rapid response. QuantumLink provides operators with the ability to remotely configure, align, and monitor HFC amplifiers. Its features include:
- Real-time telemetry for earlier fault detection
- An intelligent control architecture enabling a Detect–Mitigate–Prioritize-Resolve (DMPR) workflow
- Reduced mean time to repair and minimized truck rolls
- Built-in adherence to open standards, ensuring secure and scalable amplifier management
- Security by design: Role-based access control, secure key provisioning, and integration with enterprise-grade key vaults
- Zero trust principles applied across APIs and cloud infrastructure, including encrypted communication and audit logging
By combining visibility and control, QuantumLink helps operators restore critical services before outages escalate into widespread crises.
Looking ahead
As STRIKE convenes its first sessions and sets its agenda, operators will be seeking proven solutions that integrate easily with existing networks. AOI’s in-house design and manufacturing capabilities allow us to respond quickly—adapting to emerging threats and evolving standards.
By embedding resilience into both Quantum18 and QuantumLink, AOI is helping operators safeguard their networks against both unexpected technical failures and deliberate, malicious attacks.