Page 1 of 125
Progression: Maintenance Tech I - II Conventional Exam
( LATEST)
Customer premises .....ANSWER.....Connected to the network
through distribution taps spliced into the coaxial cable.
Branches in the architecture .....ANSWER.....The downstream
signal is distributed within nearby neighborhoods using 0.412-
inch to 0.625-inch diameter coaxial cable, splitters, and
directional couplers.
Bridger amplifier .....ANSWER.....A portion of the downstream
signal is boosted before being split and routed to as many as
four separate coaxial cables—the branches in the architecture.
Trunk amplifiers .....ANSWER.....Several are typically cascaded in
series to maintain channel amplitude at useable levels at
customer premises farthest from the headend.
,Page 2 of 125
CableLabs estimates 40% of American households can be
reached by an HFC network. .....ANSWER.....False.
CableLabs estimates 90% of American households can be
reached by an HFC network.
An advantage an HFC network offers over passive optical
network (PON) architectures and the wireless access of 5G
networks is PONs are costly to build and 5G networks are
bandwidth limited. .....ANSWER.....True.
DOCSIS 4.0 offers Full Duplex DOCSIS (FDX) and Extended
Spectrum DOCSIS (ESD) to help HFC networks compete with
passive optical network (PON) .....ANSWER.....True
What type of network architecture design did the original
broadband cable networks use to transport television and audio
signals to customer premises? .....ANSWER.....Originally,
broadband cable networks were designed using
copper/aluminum coaxial cable in a tree-and-branch
,Page 3 of 125
architecture to transport television and audio signals to customer
premises.
In a hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) network, what term defines the
maximum number of cascaded amplifiers in a network design?
.....ANSWER.....The Node +N term defines the maximum number
of cascaded amplifiers in a network design. For example, a
network designed for a maximum of six cascaded amplifiers is
called a Node +6 network, for one fiber node plus six
amplifiers.
What features of other network architectures appear to be
major advantages over the hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) network
architecture? .....ANSWER.....The seemingly infinite bandwidth of
passive optical networks (PON) and the wireless accessibility of
5G networks appear to be major advantages over the HFC
network architecture.
, Page 4 of 125
Why are network design maps drawn with symbols that
represent each of the network elements connected by the various
types of cable? .....ANSWER.....Because using replicas of the
actual broadband cable elements on network design maps is
inefficient. Network design maps are drawn with symbols that
represent each of the network elements connected by the various
types of cable.
In hardline coaxial cable for underground installations, what is
the purpose for the flooding compound between the jacket and
the sheath? .....ANSWER.....In hardline coaxial cable for
underground installations, the flooding compound seals the cable
against corrosive elements in case the jacket is damaged.
In the hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) network, what function do splitters
and directional couplers in the return path serve?
.....ANSWER.....In the HFC network return path, splitters and
Progression: Maintenance Tech I - II Conventional Exam
( LATEST)
Customer premises .....ANSWER.....Connected to the network
through distribution taps spliced into the coaxial cable.
Branches in the architecture .....ANSWER.....The downstream
signal is distributed within nearby neighborhoods using 0.412-
inch to 0.625-inch diameter coaxial cable, splitters, and
directional couplers.
Bridger amplifier .....ANSWER.....A portion of the downstream
signal is boosted before being split and routed to as many as
four separate coaxial cables—the branches in the architecture.
Trunk amplifiers .....ANSWER.....Several are typically cascaded in
series to maintain channel amplitude at useable levels at
customer premises farthest from the headend.
,Page 2 of 125
CableLabs estimates 40% of American households can be
reached by an HFC network. .....ANSWER.....False.
CableLabs estimates 90% of American households can be
reached by an HFC network.
An advantage an HFC network offers over passive optical
network (PON) architectures and the wireless access of 5G
networks is PONs are costly to build and 5G networks are
bandwidth limited. .....ANSWER.....True.
DOCSIS 4.0 offers Full Duplex DOCSIS (FDX) and Extended
Spectrum DOCSIS (ESD) to help HFC networks compete with
passive optical network (PON) .....ANSWER.....True
What type of network architecture design did the original
broadband cable networks use to transport television and audio
signals to customer premises? .....ANSWER.....Originally,
broadband cable networks were designed using
copper/aluminum coaxial cable in a tree-and-branch
,Page 3 of 125
architecture to transport television and audio signals to customer
premises.
In a hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) network, what term defines the
maximum number of cascaded amplifiers in a network design?
.....ANSWER.....The Node +N term defines the maximum number
of cascaded amplifiers in a network design. For example, a
network designed for a maximum of six cascaded amplifiers is
called a Node +6 network, for one fiber node plus six
amplifiers.
What features of other network architectures appear to be
major advantages over the hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) network
architecture? .....ANSWER.....The seemingly infinite bandwidth of
passive optical networks (PON) and the wireless accessibility of
5G networks appear to be major advantages over the HFC
network architecture.
, Page 4 of 125
Why are network design maps drawn with symbols that
represent each of the network elements connected by the various
types of cable? .....ANSWER.....Because using replicas of the
actual broadband cable elements on network design maps is
inefficient. Network design maps are drawn with symbols that
represent each of the network elements connected by the various
types of cable.
In hardline coaxial cable for underground installations, what is
the purpose for the flooding compound between the jacket and
the sheath? .....ANSWER.....In hardline coaxial cable for
underground installations, the flooding compound seals the cable
against corrosive elements in case the jacket is damaged.
In the hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) network, what function do splitters
and directional couplers in the return path serve?
.....ANSWER.....In the HFC network return path, splitters and
