Evaluating Coaxial Infrastructure Solutions in Multi-Dwelling and Brownfield Environments
Published December 7, 2025
Executive Summary
The reutilization of existing coaxial infrastructure for gigabit broadband access is increasingly appealing in multi-dwelling units (MDUs) and brownfield installations. Two well-established technologies—G.hn (ITU-T G.9960/61) and MoCA 2.5 (Multimedia over Coax Alliance)—address these requirements. Although MoCA 2.5 provides a higher theoretical peak data rate, G.hn demonstrates superior efficiency and deterministic performance under real-world access scenarios. G.hn maintains near-maximum throughput with mixed packet sizes, supports larger point-to-multipoint configurations, offers greater reach over standard coaxial cables, and operates without the need for high-frequency components. Conversely, MoCA 2.5 is advantageous in situations where coexistence with DOCSIS services is necessary.
Introduction
Utilizing in-building coaxial cabling presents a cost-effective method for extending fiber-based access without the need for additional wiring. Two principal standards dominate this domain:
- G.hn over Coax: Standardized by ITU-T, G.hn is carrier-grade and designed specifically for access networks, complying with BBF TR-419.
- MoCA 2.5: Developed by an industry consortium, MoCA 2.5 was initially intended for in-home multimedia and data distribution.
Both technologies can deliver multi-gigabit speeds; however, they differ significantly in MAC architecture, efficiency, reach, and overall suitability for access network deployments.
Technology Overview
Feature | G.hn (Over Coax) | MoCA 2.5 |
|---|---|---|
Standards Body | ITU-T G.9960/61 | MoCA Alliance |
Target Use | Access / FTTB / Fiber Extension | In-home networking / DOCSIS overlay |
PHY Band | 2–200 MHz | 500–1675 MHz
(Most products use band D: 1125–1675 MHz)
|
Number of Subscribers per Coax | 16 (up to 64 in a virtual domain)
| 31 |
Typical Reach (RG-6) for 1G Service | Up to 800 m / 2,625 ft (1500 m / 4,922 ft max) | Approx. 150 m / 492 ft (300 m / 984 ft max) |
Aggregate Max Rate | 1.7 Gb/s | 2.5 Gb/s |
Topology | Centralized TDMA (P2MP 1:16+)
| Distributed Request / Grant (LAN) |
Coexistence with DOCSIS | Requires frequency separation (< 200 MHz) | Native coexistence (> 500 MHz) |
Throughput and Efficiency
MoCA 2.5 achieves a nominal physical layer rate of 2.5 Gb/s, utilizing a distributed scheduling approach optimized for a limited number of peers exchanging large video or data frames. However, the protocol incurs significant MAC overhead when handling small or variable packet streams.
In contrast, G.hn achieves a nominal physical layer rate of 1.7 Gb/s and employs a centralized TDMA scheduler with dynamic aggregation and tone allocation, enabling it to maintain near-peak efficiency even with sub-kilobyte packets or mixed traffic. Multiple small Ethernet frames are aggregated into each OFDM burst, minimizing overhead.
Conclusion: In broadband access scenarios—where traffic typically comprises small packets, acknowledgments, and control flows—G.hn sustains higher effective throughput than MoCA 2.5, despite identical physical layer rates.
Point-to-Multipoint Operation
Access networks often require a single coaxial segment to serve multiple subscribers (e.g., 1:16 split). G.hn utilizes a domain master to manage time slots for all nodes, reallocating bandwidth within microseconds. Each subscriber can achieve burst rates around 1 Gb/s without negatively impacting others, and round-trip latency remains below approximately 2.5 ms even under full load.
MoCA 2.5, on the other hand, relies on each node requesting transmission opportunities via a distributed controller. As the number of nodes increases, request/grant overhead and contention also rise, causing per-node latency and fairness to degrade under heavy simultaneous traffic, even though aggregate throughput remains high.
Conclusion: For multi-subscriber, carrier-grade deployments, G.hn’s centralized TDMA approach provides more deterministic latency and fairness compared to MoCA’s distributed MAC architecture.
Reach and Infrastructure Requirements
G.hn operates within the lower 2–200 MHz frequency band, achieving up to 800 meters (for 1G service) over standard RG-6 coaxial cable and performing reliably on older or higher-loss cables. It is compatible with standard 5–1000 MHz splitters, eliminating the need for specialized high-frequency components.
MoCA 2.5, operating in the 500–1675 MHz range (typically in D-band: 1125–1675 MHz), generally achieves a reach of approximately 150 meters for 1G service and requires MoCA-rated splitters and taps that support higher frequencies.
Conclusion: G.hn offers longer reach—up to 800 meters—which not only supports greater distances but also helps overcome signal loss caused by older or higher-attenuation cables and standard splitters. Its compatibility with a wide range of splitters and reliable performance on legacy infrastructure make deployment simpler. In contrast, MoCA 2.5 is limited to shorter distances (approximately 150 meters for 1G service) and requires MoCA-rated components thereby typically requiring replacement of standard diplexers and splitters which were designed to work up to 1Ghz.
Coexistence with DOCSIS
An advantage of MoCA is its native coexistence with DOCSIS and CATV services. MoCA 2.5 primarily operates in the D-band (1125–1675 MHz), facilitating coexistence with DOCSIS below 1 GHz and enabling overlay on live cable infrastructure with minimal filtering.
G.hn, which operates below 200 MHz, typically occupies spectrum used by DOCSIS upstream channels; therefore, coexistence requires separate coaxial segments or the implementation of low-pass filters. Consequently, MoCA 2.5 remains the preferred solution when the same coaxial network must continue to support DOCSIS services.
Conclusion
Both G.hn and MoCA 2.5 are capable of delivering multi-gigabit broadband over coaxial infrastructure, though their design philosophies and primary use cases differ. G.hn is engineered for carrier-grade performance, offering stable latency, robust long-reach capabilities, efficient handling of mixed packet sizes, and deterministic quality of service in multi-subscriber access environments. It is particularly well-suited for fiber extension (FTTB/MDU) deployments utilizing existing coaxial installations.
MoCA 2.5 excels in consumer and overlay scenarios, where DOCSIS coexistence and very high burst throughput over short cable runs are critical. It remains the optimal choice for in-home or DOCSIS-shared applications, but is less suitable for heavily loaded, point-to-multipoint access networks.
Summary: G.hn provides the robustness, determinism, and scalability required for modern access networks, and it can utilize existing coaxial cables without the need for costly modifications to accommodate MoCA. In contrast, MoCA 2.5 delivers strong performance for short-reach or DOCSIS-coexistent deployments.