The Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) is an international standards consortium that publishes specifications for networking over coaxial cable. The technology was originally developed to distribute IP television in homes using existing cabling, but is now used as a general-purpose Ethernet link where it is inconvenient or undesirable to replace existing coaxial cabling with optical fiber or twisted pair cabling.
MoCA 1.0 was approved in 2006, MoCA 1.1 in April 2010, MoCA 2.0 in June 2010, and MoCA 2.5 in April 2016. The most recently released version of the standard, MoCA 3.0, supports speeds of up to . As of 2021, this technology is not yet available in customer premises equipment.
MoCA technology has evolved through several generations. Early MoCA specifications provided networking speeds suitable for distributing multimedia content within a home, while later versions increased throughput and improved network efficiency. MoCA 2.x introduced substantially higher data rates than the earlier specifications, and MoCA 3.0 further increased the available throughput and was designed for higher-bandwidth residential networking applications.
Membership As of 2026, the Alliance has 13 members including pay TV operators, OEMs, CE manufacturers, and IC vendors.
MoCA's board of directors consists of staff from InCoax, MaxLinear and Verizon.
Technology Within the scope of the Internet protocol suite, MoCA is a protocol that provides the link layer. In the seven-layer OSI model, it provides definitions within the data link layer (layer 2) and the physical layer (layer 1). DLNA approved of MoCA as a layer 2 protocol.MOCA FAQs A MoCA network can contain up to 16 nodes for MoCA 1.1 and higher, with a maximum of 8 for MoCA 1.0. The network provides a shared-medium, half-duplex link between all nodes using time-division multiplexing. Within each timeslot, any pair of nodes communicates directly with each other using the highest mutually-supported version of the standard.
Versions MoCA 1.0 The first version of the standard, MoCA 1.0, was ratified in 2006 and supports transmission speeds of up to 135 Mbit/s. MoCA 1.1 MoCA 1.1 provides 175 Mbit/s net throughputs (275 Mbit/s PHY rate) and operates in the 500 to 1500 MHz frequency range. MoCA 2.0 MoCA 2.0 offers actual throughputs (MAC rate) up to 1 Gbit/s. Operating frequency range is 500 to 1650 MHz. Packet error rate is 1 packet error in 100 million. MoCA 2.0 also offers lower power modes of sleep and standby and is backward compatible with MoCA 1.1. In March 2017, SCTE/ISBE society and MoCA consortium began creating a new "standards operational practice" (SCTE 235) to provide MoCA 2.0 with DOCSIS 3.1 interoperability. Interoperability is necessary because both MoCA 2.0 and DOCSIS 3.1 may operate in the frequency range above 1 GHz. The standard "addresses the need to prevent degradation or failure of signals due to a shared frequency range above 1 GHz". MoCA 2.5 MoCA 2.5 (introduced 13 April 2016) offers actual data rates up to 2.5 Gbit/s, continues to be backward compatible with MoCA 2.0 and MoCA 1.1, and adds MoCA protected setup (MPS), Management Proxy, Enhanced Privacy, Network wide Beacon Power, and Bridge detection. MoCA Access is intended for multiple dwelling units (MDUs) such as hotels, resorts, hospitals, or educational facilities. It is based on the current MoCA 2.0 standard which is capable of 1 Gbit/s net throughputs, and MoCA 2.5 which is capable of 2.5 Gbit/s. MoCA 3.0 (Next Gen) The MoCA 3.0 (Next Gen) standard has not been released as of April 2026. However, promotional material provided by the Alliance indicates MAC throughput of up to 10Gbps and reduced latency over the MoCA 2.5 standard.
Performance profiles MoCA 1.0 MoCA 1.1 MoCA 2.0 MoCA 2.0 bonded MoCA 2.1 MoCA 2.1 bonded MoCA 2.5 MoCA 3.0 Actual throughput (Mbit/s) 100 175 500 1000 500 1000 2500 10,000 Number of channels bonded 2 2 2 3~5 ≤4Modulation1024 QAM1024 QAM1024 QAM1024 QAM8192 QAM Power save (standby and sleep) MoCA protected setup; MPS Management proxy Enhanced privacy Network-wide beacon power Bridge detection
Frequency band plan
Channel Frequency, center (MHz) MoCA 1.1 channel MoCA 2.0 primary MoCA 2.0 secondary Beacon channel EE1 450 EE2 475 E1 500 E2 525 E3 550 E4 575 E5 600 EE3 625 EE4 650 --- --- --- --- --- --- F1 675 F2 700 F3 725 F4 750 F5 775 F6 800 F7 825 F8 850 --- --- --- --- --- --- A1 875 B1 900 --- --- --- --- --- --- C1 925 C2 950 C3 975 C4 1000 --- --- --- --- --- --- D1 1150 D1a 1175 D2 1200 D2a 1225 D3 1250 D3a 1275 D4 1300 D4a 1325 D5 1350 D5a 1375 D6 1400 D6a 1425 D7 1450 D7a 1475 D8 1500 D8a 1525 D9 1550 D9a 1575 D10 1600 D10a 1625
Notes: Channel C4 is commonly used for Verizon FiOS for the "WAN" link from the ONT to the router.Verizon Online FiOS FAQ → 3.2 MOCA Channels D1-D8 are commonly used for "LAN" links, between set-top boxes and the router. E band channels are commonly used by DirecTV converter boxes. The DirecTV Ethernet-to-Coax Adapter (DECA) uses MoCA on this "Mid-RF" frequency band. D10A 100 MHz wide means it goes up to 1675 MHz, so splitters need to be 5-1675 MHz.
See also Ethernet over coax G.hn Home gateway Home network HomePlug Powerline Alliance HomePNA IEEE 802.3 IEEE 802.11 IEEE 1905 Ultra-high-definition television Wi-Fi over Coax Wireless LAN
References
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