<normal disclaimer about this just being my opinion>
I think there were a couple of contributing factors:
- WiFi is still easier to install (where you can get a good signal), and built into phones/laptops/etc. so mostly all you have to do to get wireless networking is buy the router. For MoCA, you have to buy & install a box for every endpoint. Also, MoCA is limited to places you have coax, which is usually bedrooms & living rooms. If you need connectivity in the garage/attic/closet/kitchen, MoCA might require new wires anyway.
- Lack of interest from MoCA developers. The main "customer" for MoCA chips was cable set-top-box vendors (Scientific Atlanta, etc.) for "multi-room PVR" products. That's where almost all MoCA networking chips made ended up. The cable/satellite vendors needed the deterministic performance of MoCA (vs WiFi) and they were always planning on putting a box in every room with a TV - which generally already aligns with where the cable taps are. They could also pre-configure the MoCA so it wouldn't interfere with some other stuff they might want to put on the cable (Example: DirecTV put its downlink from the dish squarely in the middle of the MoCA frequency band, so you had to configure MoCA to a different channel in DirecTV houses than e.g. Verizon). The market for bare Ethernet-Coax Bridges (ECB) was always tiny in comparison.
- The chicken and egg problem. The consumer market for bare Ethernet-Coax gateways was smaller (see above) as it has to compete with both WiFi and "just run some new CAT-5" (as well as niche things like HPNA/G.hn) so it didn't get a lot of focus or advertising. In turn, this means most people have no idea that MoCA even exists, so they don't go looking for it. D.Link, Netgear, Linksys, etc. then decided that lack of demand meant it's not worth developing/advertising new/improved versions of the products, etc.
MoCA was a very targeted solution for adding IP connectivity to things which were already wired together on a Coax network, and it did a great job at that. We sold 100s of millions of chips. MoCA was never meant to be all things to all people though, and while I personally use MoCA in my home I never got my own parents to use it - they just have the one computer hooked directly to their router, and WiFi for their iPad.
I think there were a couple of contributing factors:
- WiFi is still easier to install (where you can get a good signal), and built into phones/laptops/etc. so mostly all you have to do to get wireless networking is buy the router. For MoCA, you have to buy & install a box for every endpoint. Also, MoCA is limited to places you have coax, which is usually bedrooms & living rooms. If you need connectivity in the garage/attic/closet/kitchen, MoCA might require new wires anyway.
- Lack of interest from MoCA developers. The main "customer" for MoCA chips was cable set-top-box vendors (Scientific Atlanta, etc.) for "multi-room PVR" products. That's where almost all MoCA networking chips made ended up. The cable/satellite vendors needed the deterministic performance of MoCA (vs WiFi) and they were always planning on putting a box in every room with a TV - which generally already aligns with where the cable taps are. They could also pre-configure the MoCA so it wouldn't interfere with some other stuff they might want to put on the cable (Example: DirecTV put its downlink from the dish squarely in the middle of the MoCA frequency band, so you had to configure MoCA to a different channel in DirecTV houses than e.g. Verizon). The market for bare Ethernet-Coax Bridges (ECB) was always tiny in comparison.
- The chicken and egg problem. The consumer market for bare Ethernet-Coax gateways was smaller (see above) as it has to compete with both WiFi and "just run some new CAT-5" (as well as niche things like HPNA/G.hn) so it didn't get a lot of focus or advertising. In turn, this means most people have no idea that MoCA even exists, so they don't go looking for it. D.Link, Netgear, Linksys, etc. then decided that lack of demand meant it's not worth developing/advertising new/improved versions of the products, etc.
MoCA was a very targeted solution for adding IP connectivity to things which were already wired together on a Coax network, and it did a great job at that. We sold 100s of millions of chips. MoCA was never meant to be all things to all people though, and while I personally use MoCA in my home I never got my own parents to use it - they just have the one computer hooked directly to their router, and WiFi for their iPad.