But if there is no "free space" for the existing Docsis 1 signal and traffic, is there space ( a different space so to speak) for the Docsis 3.0 signal and traffic, As far as I know there is no analog TV service on this part of the network here - all TV users have boxes for the conversion.

Apples and Oranges.

With the legacy 7246VXRs you could feed a node with only 2 downstreams regardless of how much physical / RF capacity is present on the network. There could be 25% of the downstream RF capacity free but only two downstreams usable for broadband with that hardware. The 10k allows better management as each card has 5 downstreams instead of the maximum 2 on the legacy hardware.

There's likely to be ample space for more DOCSIS channels, indeed 3 are required for the 50Mbit service, just the legacy dual downstream DOCSIS platform is full.

agreed, my question is why isnt the same newspaper asking for people on adsl max who get less than 4mbit and people on BE who get less than 12mbit etc.