MOCA stands for Multimedia over Coax Alliance. It is an impeccable service being offered by Xfinity that allows you to create a coaxial network through your house to connect multiple devices to the internet. Coaxial cables have been used widely in the past, and are still being used for most domestic applications, all over the US. MOCA allows you to have better and faster connectivity without any disturbances. You can enjoy a truly fast internet connection over your wires that are already installed in the wiring of your house.
MOCA is all about utility as most homes had these coaxial cables installed during the house renovation or building process. You will be enjoying a wire-free experience as these wires are already hidden under the structure so you don’t have to deal with the ethernet wires hanging around. The same can be done with the powerlines as well, but these powerlines are not as efficient as MOCA is. To get a better idea of the comparison of both of these methods that you can use for the purpose, you need to understand the following.
MOCA vs Powerline
Unlike powerlines, Coaxial cables are designed to carry the data. They allow up to 1 Gigabit speeds so you can enjoy streaming or browsing experience without any lags or errors. The networking equipment for MOCA is designed specifically to facilitate data transfer for internet connectivity by Xfinity so you get an enhanced user experience that would not be possible otherwise. There are second opinions on the technical basis that coaxial cables are a bit slower than ethernet cables, but when it comes to powerlines. MOCA can beat it in terms of speed, connectivity, and stability any day under any given conditions.
Powerline on the other hand is designed to carry electrical signals but no data. They are designed to carry one bit at a time so you will be facing constant speed issues if you use them for the internet. Internet traffic is just too much for the powerlines to handle efficiently. Needless to mention, there are tons of other problems that you are going to face while using a powerline to transmit the data for the internet. They might be efficient for telephone signals or connecting one device at a time, but MOCA beats powerline for whole-house networking by a significant margin. To understand some of the aspects with a deeper perspective, you need to have a look at these.
Insulation
Noise for a wire is an issue that was faced greatly over powerlines. They are not insulated for noise and the rubber coating is only to stop from any short circuits or other disturbances that you might be facing. While powerlines can have a signal loss, data errors, and other issues due to the factor, coaxial cables are fully insulated to counter any such issues.
The mesh around the coaxial cables protects the data that is being transmitted over the cable from any sort of error or disturbances caused by a foreign signal. This ensures accuracy and the data is received correctly on all the channels.
Speed
Coaxial cables can manage up to 1 Gigabit speed that cannot be closely touched by the powerline. Powerlines can transfer data but they are not built to handle the speed of the internet. If you are using a powerline for internet connectivity, you will have to face constant issues with speed loss and data errors that would be drastic for you. Coaxial cables are the best choice you can get, and with an optimized networking option such as MOCA, you are ensured to get the faster internet experience than powerlines.
Convenience
Convenience is the whole point for having a home internet network that is optimized just for you. MOCA brings you an opportunity to run all your devices across your home on the coaxial cables that are pre-installed in the wiring of your home. The same cannot be said for powerlines as they might be able to carry the data, and are pre-installed in your wiring, but they can only connect one device at a time.
However, with MOCA you can connect as many devices to the internet as you want, giving you an overall convenient and smooth experience that would make MOCA a better choice for you over the powerline.