Comcast advances on 'Project Genesis,' tests quantum computing

Comcast has been pressing ahead with Project Genesis, a widescale hybrid fiber/coax network upgrade that will pave the way to DOCSIS 4.0, symmetrical multi-gigabit speeds and lower latencies. At the SCTE TechExpo in Washington, DC, Comcast's Elad Nafshi shared some updated stats on those upgrades, details about an emerging AI edge offering, and some thoughts about a quantum computing trial underway with a pair of partners. Virtualization is a centerpiece of the initiative. Nafshi, Comcast's EVP and chief network officer, said the operator has now deployed 1,300 vCMTS physical points of deployment and more than 50,000 edge compute servers. Turning to Comcast's distributed access architecture upgrade, Nafshi said the operator has deployed about 200,000 remote PHY devices. Comcast is also making strides with a new Full Duplex amplifier initially supplied by CommScope that enables the operator to broaden and accelerate its DOCSIS 4.0 deployment.