Ziggo, the Dutch cable operator owned by VodafoneZiggo, has put DOCSIS 4.0 into its live network at a scale no other European operator has reached. Working with Aurora Networks, it has deployed thousands of unified DOCSIS 4.0 nodes across its hybrid fibre-coaxial network in the Netherlands, and the two companies announced on 28 September that it is the first large-scale deployment of its kind in Europe.
DOCSIS is the standard that lets cable networks carry internet traffic, and version 4.0 is the one that allows multi-gigabit speeds in both directions over the coaxial cable already running into homes. For Ziggo, it is the technology behind a plan, reported last year, to offer subscriptions of up to 8 Gbps by the end of 2026.
"Being the first in Europe to deploy DOCSIS 4.0 in the Netherlands at a large scale, in a live network, is how we make sure they have the best network experience," said Thomas Helbo, Ziggo's chief technology officer, referring to the operator's customers.
What Ziggo Actually Switched On
The equipment comes from Aurora Networks, a name with a long history in cable. It is the former access network business of CommScope, which took back the Aurora brand in January when Amphenol bought CommScope's cable and connectivity unit and the rest of the company became Vistance Networks, and the Ziggo deal is one of its first big wins under the old name.
Ziggo is running Aurora's D2182 optical nodes with a module that does the radio processing out in the node itself, a design known as distributed access architecture, while the cable modem termination system, the core that manages all the modems, runs as software in the data centre. The network uses the extended spectrum form of DOCSIS 4.0, which widens the range of frequencies the cable can carry, but the same module can switch to full duplex mode later, where upstream and downstream traffic share the same frequencies.
That flexibility matters because the cable industry split between the two approaches. Comcast in the US chose full duplex, while Charter and Cox went with extended spectrum, and chipmakers have since worked on unified designs that support both, which is what Ziggo now has in the field.
Why Moving The Electronics Matters
Pushing processing into the node and running the core as software is as important to Ziggo as the headline speeds. Guy Sucharczuk, who leads Aurora Networks, said the combination lets operators reach multi-gigabit services "while reducing power consumption, headend complexity and operational costs," a pitch that lands well with European operators facing high energy prices.
It also makes the network easier to upgrade in steps. Ziggo can modernise the physical cable plant and the software core on separate timelines, and it can move individual nodes to full duplex later without replacing the hardware it installed this year.
A Cable Operator Under Pressure From Fibre
Ziggo needs the upgrade because Dutch fibre has caught up fast: by last year KPN offered symmetric fibre plans of up to 4 Gbps, and Odido was selling 8 Gbps over several networks, including that of DELTA Fiber, while Ziggo lost 31,000 broadband subscribers in early 2025 before it cut prices and reshaped its range.
The operator served about 3.3 million fixed-line customers and 3 million internet subscribers at the end of 2025, and it is hedging its bets by also selling services over DELTA's fibre network to more than 600,000 extra addresses from this year. DOCSIS 4.0 lets it offer fibre-like speeds over its existing cable without digging new lines to millions of homes.
Upload Speed Is The Real Prize
For business and IoT users, the upstream gain may matter more than the download headline. DOCSIS 3.1 networks offer far more download than upload capacity, which has become a limit as small firms move to cloud video calls, security cameras and backups, and as AI tools send more data up the line, a shift we traced in how AI's uplink surge reaches the fibre behind 5G towers.
DOCSIS 4.0 can deliver several gigabits of upload in theory, although Ziggo has not yet said what upload speeds its plans will include.
Europe Follows Where US Cable Went First
Ziggo's rollout also marks the moment DOCSIS 4.0 spreads beyond the US. Comcast said in March that its DOCSIS 4.0 network now reaches "millions" of homes, with tens of thousands of capable nodes among its roughly 225,000 digital nodes, and Aurora says the Ziggo project opens a series of deployments across the European operators owned by Liberty Global, Ziggo's co-owner alongside Vodafone.
Cable's Answer To Fibre Is Now Live
Ziggo's move shows that cable operators do not plan to hand the multi-gigabit market to fibre. If DOCSIS 4.0 lets it match fibre's speeds without rebuilding its network, Ziggo keeps a cost advantage over rivals still digging trenches, and Liberty Global has a template to repeat in Belgium, Ireland and the UK.
The test for customers will come when the 8 Gbps plans reach shops and Ziggo reveals its upload speeds, prices and real-world performance next to KPN's and Odido's fibre. For business users choosing between cable and fibre, those upload figures will count for more than any download record.
