As a key access network

HFC( Hybrid Fiber Coaxial ) network has been deeply studied recently.HFC network has the special tree-and-branch topology.Its upstream and downstream channels are separate from each other in frequency band.The upstream channel is a point-to-multipoint broadcasting channel with a wider bandwidth

while the downstream one is a multipoint-to-point share medium with a narrower bandwidth.So

the most key issues in MAC protocol design of the HFC network are focused on how to resolve the collision efficiently

how to improve the bandwidth utility and how to lower the access time delay while using upstream channels.This paper theoretically analyzed the main factors that affect these performances of a MAC protocol based on most popular designs.Also we studied the performance of DOCSIS v1.0 MAC protocol through simulation.The test results approve our analysis well.This paper can give us some guidance in our further exploration of HFC access technology.