Harmonic secures 98% vCMTS market share as broadband virtualization accelerates

Harmonic’s near-monopoly in vCMTS reflects a definitive shift from hardware-centric legacy CMTS to software-based virtualization. For the streaming ecosystem, this provides the high-capacity, low-latency foundation required for consistently delivering 4K/8K and immersive content at scale. Competitively, Harmonic’s early-mover advantage has marginalized traditional players like CommScope and Cisco who struggled with the transition to cloud-native stacks. To maintain this lead, watch for Harmonic's ability to convert its unified DOCSIS 4.0 trials with Comcast and Charter into full-scale production deployments through 2026.

The virtual CMTS market is entering a pivotal phase as major North American MSOs move past lab trials into field implementation. According to Dell'Oro Group in early 2024, while overall broadband equipment spending faced temporary inventory corrections, the segment for virtualized and distributed access equipment is expected to hit $1.3 billion by 2028. This growth is underpinned by the rollout of Comcast’s 'Xfinity 10G' network, which leverages Harmonic’s cOS platform to reach a targeted 50 million homes by late 2025. Per Light Reading in May 2026, competitors like Vecima Networks have intensified their efforts, securing vCMTS trials with Cox Communications (which is currently merging with Charter) to challenge Harmonic's dominance.

Technologically, the industry is converging on Unified DOCSIS 4.0, a standard that simplifies network upgrades by supporting both Full Duplex (FDX) and Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) variants. As reported by Broadband TV News in September 2024, Harmonic and Comcast demonstrated the first unified solution capable of delivering 9Gbps symmetric speeds. This advancement is critical for operators competing against pure-fiber providers (FTTP), as it allows them to extend the life of existing hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) plants while providing fiber-like performance. Furthermore, the integration of Harmonic's software into edge devices enables operators to utilize BEAD funding for rural expansion, aligning with 'Build America, Buy America' requirements for 2025 and 2026 projects.