In my latest video I revisit MoCA, a technology that allows you to extend your home computer network using your existing cable TV wiring. I made this video because I’m still getting a lot of questions about the underlying network topology and I didn’t really have anything that showed it all working top to bottom in a single piece.
MoCA offers impressive performance with latency and bandwidth comparable to an Ethernet connection. The latest version, MoCA 2.5, supports data transfers up to 2.5 gigabits per second. While Ethernet is always preferable MoCA is really the next best thing if rewiring your home is not feasible.
MoCA devices, such as those from Translite and GoCoax use the same wire as your Internet and TV service but work on different frequencies. This allows MoCA to co-exist with your existing services – but they also work in the homes of cord cutters with “dark coax” that is no longer connected to the outside utility pole.
These devices are easy to install: plug one box into a coax connection and a free Ethernet LAN port on your router, and then plug a second box into any other coax outlet in your home. In most cases the two boxes will find each other and “bridge” your ethernet network to the coax. Simply plug in an Ethernet device to the remote MoCA boxes and you’ll be able to reach any device on your local network or the Internet.
It’s important to be mindful of the use of splitters. While necessary for running a coax network throughout your home, they can be problematic for MoCA due to power reduction and frequency limitations. To ensure optimal performance, use splitters that are MoCA compatible. You’ll find many of them on Amazon (affiliate link).
MoCA is a standard, so devices from different manufacturers can communicate with each other. It’s also backwards compatible, so older devices running slower versions of MoCA can still communicate with the new ones.
MoCA is a great way to extend your network without running Ethernet cables everywhere. It offers minimal latency and impressive performance, making it a viable solution for most home use cases.