The cable network is a broadband electrical distribution network that provides households and businesses with television, radio, telephony and the Internet. In 1982 the Federal Post Office, which was still state-owned at the time, began building the cable network, thus supplying broadband cable to almost the whole of Germany. The German cable network is divided into four levels: Network levels 1 and 2 transport signals from the transmitter to the regional distribution networks. Network level 3 extends to the transfer points on the customer’s doorstep. Network level 4 is the part of the network from the transfer point to the cable socket in the apartment.

• Originally the so-called cable television was the main service.
• Internet connections that are implemented via the cable network are sometimes faster than DSL.
• The cable network industry in Germany is dominated by Kabel Deutschland in Unterföhring near Munich.

Originally, so-called cable television was the main service, but by upgrading the cable network with a return channel, cable network operators are now also offering telephony and internet, and sometimes also mobile phone tariffs. The combination of these services via a single provider is called “triple play”. When a fourth service such as cell phone telephony is added, it is called “Quadruple Play”.

Cable network operators are stirring up the telecommunications market

With the modernization of the cable network, which Deutsche Telekom had to sell for competitive reasons, the operators have become serious competitors of the traditional telephone companies. In addition to analog and digital TV services, they now offer fast Internet and telephone services. Not only the top dog, Telekom, is coming under a lot of pressure. In contrast to many DSL providers, cable companies can still record noticeable increases in Internet services today.

Internet connections that are implemented via the cable network are often even faster than DSL . After years of discussions about the connection via fiber optic technology, Deutsche Telekom is now pushing ahead with the cable expansion and has been initiating so-called vectoring since 2016.

Cable market clearly divided

Defined by abbreviationfinder, the cable network industry in Germany is dominated by Kabel Deutschland in Unterföhring near Munich. Before that, Unitymedia and Kabel Deutschland were the front runners in the cable network industry, particularly in North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse and Baden-Württemberg. In 2019, Unitymedia was taken over by Vodafone Kabel Deutschland. Unitymedia was finally discontinued on February 1st, 2020 and has been operating as Vodafone West GmbH ever since.

The company supplies almost all German regions with TV offers, fast internet connections and telephone services. They are active in 13 federal states. Tele Columbus supplies a smaller number of customers in Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and parts of North Rhine-Westphalia.

In mid-2020, the market shares for broadband internet in Germany were 38.9 percent to Deutsche Telekom, 30.3 percent to Vodafone Germany, 12.3 percent to 1 & 1 and 6.3 percent to Telefónica Deutschland.

COAXIAL CABLE

The coaxial cable, also known as coaxial cable or antenna cable for short, is ideal for transmitting high-frequency, broadband signals. Only a few people are familiar with the coaxial cable from the home network, but it is still used in radio and television. Here you can find out everything about the structure and advantages of a coaxial cable.

the essentials in brief

• In the innermost part of a coaxial cable there is a copper wire that acts as an inner conductor and consists of individual thin copper wires.
• If the coaxial cable is connected with a connector and thus supplied with voltage, an electric field is only created between the inner and outer conductors.
• In the past, the coaxial cable was also used for computer networks, which is hardly the case today.

The coaxial cable viewed from the inside out

In the innermost part of a coaxial cable there is a copper wire that acts as an inner conductor and consists of individual thin copper wires. By means of this, signals are transmitted through the coaxial cable, which is why it is not called “soul” for nothing. Surrounding the latter, an insulation layer (dielectric) ensures that the inner and outer conductors are separated from each other and offers additional mechanical stability. This stability is particularly important when the coaxial cable is laid in bends or has to withstand pressure. The insulation layer consists partly or sometimes completely of air. Between the outer cable sheath and the insulation layer there is a braided shield, which is referred to as the outer conductor. This shields the inner conductor from interfering radiation and serves as reference earth (ground).

Coaxial cable is characterized by shielding

If the coaxial cable is connected with a connector and thus supplied with voltage, an electric field is only created between the inner and outer conductors. Due to this special shielding, there is no electromagnetic field outside the cable. The bandwidth of a coaxial cable is between a few kHz and several GHz. Coaxial cables usually have a diameter in the range between 2 and 15 millimeters, although thicker special shapes are also available for high-tech applications such as radar technology.

What is the coaxial cable used for?

In the past, the coaxial cable was also used for computer networks, which is hardly the case today. Nevertheless, it is still part of almost every household, as it is used as an antenna cable and in broadcasting. Since the outer conductor serves as a ground and the inner conductor can transport both signal voltage and supply voltage, the coaxial cable is particularly suitable where DC voltage is to be transmitted in addition to the actual signals, for example in the case of microphones.

The coaxial cable in the home network

In the networking of home computers, the coaxial cable is rarely used today, as modern network technology is largely based on Ethernet cables or WLAN. Nevertheless, there are ways to use coaxial cables that have already been laid for the home network. For this, however, a corresponding adapter is required, which can sometimes be quite expensive to purchase. The adapter enables the data to be transmitted from coaxial cable to Ethernet cable via plug connections, which then ultimately leads to the connected end device.