<PAGE>   1

      As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 15, 2000
                                                            File No. 33-________

================================================================================

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                              WASHINGTON, DC 20549
                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                                ANTEC CORPORATION
             (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

       DELAWARE                                         36-3892082
(State or other jurisdiction of                       (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)                        Identification No.)

                             11450 TECHNOLOGY CIRCLE
                                DULUTH, GA 30097
                                 (678) 473-2000

          (Address, including zip code and telephone number, including
            area code, of registrant's principal executive offices)

                                ANTEC CORPORATION
                            2000 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
                            (Full Title of the Plan)

                              Lawrence A. Margolis
                             11450 Technology Circle
                              Duluth, Georgia 30097
                     (Name and Address of Agent for Service)
                                 (678) 473-2000
          (Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service)



                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
====================================================================================================================
                                                                           Proposed Maximum
     Title of Securities         Amount to be       Maximum Offering      Aggregate Offering        Amount of
      To be Registered            Registered       Price Per Share (1)        Price (1)         Registration Fee
<S>                            <C>                 <C>                    <C>                   <C>

Common Stock ($.01 per
 Share par value)..........    2,500,000 shares        $43.72              $109,300,000             $28,856.00

====================================================================================================================
</TABLE>

(1) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee on the
    basis of the average of the high and low prices of the Registrant's
    Common Stock as reported on the NASDAQ Stock Market on May 12, 2000.

<PAGE>   2





                                     PART II
               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

ITEM 3. INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.

         The following documents, which have heretofore been filed by ANTEC
Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "Commission") pursuant to the Securities Act of 1993,
as amended (the "Securities Act"), and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the "Exchange Act"), are incorporated by reference herein and shall be
deemed to be part hereof:

         (a)      The Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
                  December 31, 1999.

         (b)      The description of the Company's Common Stock under the
                  caption "Description of Registrant's Securities to be
                  Registered" included in the Company's Registration Statement
                  on Form 8-A dated September 2, 1993 and amended on September
                  14, 1993.

         (c)      The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the calendar
                  quarter ended March 31, 2000.

         All documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant to Section
         13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
         prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that
         all securities offered have been sold or which deregisters all
         securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated
         herein by reference and shall be deemed a part hereof from the date of
         filing such documents.

ITEM 4. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES.

         Not applicable.

ITEM 5. INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL.

         Certain Legal matters with respect to the legality of the Common Stock
offered hereby will be passed upon for the Company by James E. Knox, General
Counsel and Assistant Secretary of the Company. Mr. Knox holds a total of
approximately 70,000 options to acquire shares of ANTEC's Common Stock.

ITEM 6. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

         Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the "DGCL")
authorizes and the Company's By-laws require the Company to indemnify the
directors and officers of the Company against liabilities incurred in connection
with, and related expenses resulting from, any claim, action or suit brought
against any such person as a result of his relationship with the Company,
provided that such persons acted in accordance with a stated standard of conduct
in connection with the acts or events on which such claim, action or suit is
based. The finding of either civil or criminal liability on the part of such
persons in connection with such acts or events is not necessarily determinative
of the questions of whether such persons have met the required standard of
conduct and are, accordingly, entitled to be indemnified.

         In addition, the Company's Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as
amended, provides that the Company's directors do not have personal liability to
the Company or its stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of their
fiduciary duty as directors except (i) for a breach of the duty of loyalty, (ii)
for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct
or knowing violation of the law, (iii) for willful or negligent violations of
certain provisions in the DGCL imposing certain requirements with respect to
stock repurchases, redemptions and dividends or (iv) for any transaction from
which the director derived an improper personal benefit. Subject to these
exceptions, directors do not have any personal liability to the Company or its
stockholders for any violation of their fiduciary duty.


                                       2
<PAGE>   3

         The Company has purchased insurance policies that, if any officer or
director of the Company or its subsidiaries becomes legally obligated to make a
payment (including legal fees and expenses) in connection with an alleged
wrongful act, the insurer will reimburse such officers and directors if the
indemnification payments, as provided above, are not made by the Company or its
subsidiaries to such officers and directors. Wrongful act means any breach of
duty, neglect, error, misstatement, misleading statement or other act done by an
officer or director of the Company or any subsidiary.

ITEM 7. EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED.

         Not applicable.

ITEM 8. EXHIBITS.

         See Exhibit Index, which is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 9. UNDERTAKINGS.

         The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

                  1.       To file, during any period in which offers or sales
                           are being made, a post-effective amendment to this
                           registration statement:

                           (i)      To include any prospectus required by
                                    section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of
                                    1933;

                           (ii)     To reflect in the prospectus any facts or
                                    events arising after the effective date of
                                    the registration statement (or most recent
                                    post-effective amendment thereof) which,
                                    individually or in the aggregate, represent
                                    a fundamental change in the information set
                                    forth in the registration statement;

                           (iii)    To include any material information with
                                    respect to the plan of distribution not
                                    previously disclosed in the registration
                                    statement or any material change to such
                                    information in the registration statement;

                                    Provided, however, that paragraphs (1)(i)
                                    and (1)(ii) do not apply if the registration
                                    statement is on Form S-3 or Form S-8, and
                                    the information required to be included in
                                    the post-effective amendment by those
                                    paragraphs is contained in periodic reports
                                    filed by the registrant pursuant to Section
                                    13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities
                                    Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated
                                    by reference in the registration statement.

                  2.       That, for the purpose of determining any liability
                           under the Securities Act of 1933, each such
                           post-effective amendment shall be deemed a new
                           registration statement relating to the securities
                           offered therein, and the offering of such securities
                           at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
                           fide offering thereof.

                  3.       To remove from registration by means of
                           post-effective amendment any of the securities being
                           registered that remain unsold at the termination of
                           the offering.

         The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the
registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an
employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the
registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities
at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.


                                       3
<PAGE>   4

                                   SIGNATURES

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that is has duly caused this registration statement, or
amendment thereto, to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Duluth, State of Georgia, on May 12, 2000.

                                             ANTEC CORPORATION
                                             /s/  LAWRENCE A. MARGOLIS
                                             ----------------------------------
                                                    Lawrence A. Margolis
                                                    Executive Vice President

    Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, this
registration statement has been signed below by the following persons on behalf
of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

<TABLE>
<S>                                               <C>                                                   <C>
            /s/ ROBERT J. STANZIONE               President, Chief Executive Officer and Director       May 12, 2000
            ------------------------
              Robert J. Stanzione

              /s/ JOHN M. EGAN *                  Chairman of the Board and Director                    May 12, 2000
              -------------------
                  John M. Egan

            /s/ LAWRENCE A. MARGOLIS              Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer     May 12, 2000
            ------------------------
              Lawrence A. Margolis

             /s/ MARK J. SCAGLIUSO                VP, Chief Accounting and Information Officer          May 12, 2000
             ---------------------
               Mark J. Scagliuso

             /s/ ROD F. DAMMEYER *                Director                                              May 12, 2000
             ---------------------
                Rod F. Dammeyer

              /s/ JOHN R. PETTY *                 Director                                              May 12, 2000
              -------------------
                 John R. Petty

                                                  Director
-------------------------------------------
                 Larry Romrell

             /s/ BRUCE VAN WAGNER *               Director                                              May 12, 2000
             ----------------------
                Bruce Van Wagner

             /s/ SAMUEL K. SKINNER *              Director                                              May 12, 2000
             -----------------------
               Samuel K. Skinner

              /s/ JAMES L. FAUST *                Director                                              May 12, 2000
              --------------------
                 James L. Faust

              /s/ J. A. IAN CRAIG *               Director                                              May 12, 2000
              ---------------------
                J. A. Ian Craig

           /s/ WILLIAM T. SCHLEYER *              Director                                              May 12, 2000
           -------------------------
              William T. Schleyer

             /s/ WILLIAM H. LAMBERT *             Director                                              May 12, 2000
             ------------------------
               William H. Lambert

          BY /s/ LAWRENCE A. MARGOLIS
          ---------------------------
              Lawrence A. Margolis
(as attorney in fact for each person indicated)
</TABLE>


                                       4
<PAGE>   5

                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Exhibit                                                                      Sequential
Number    Description of Exhibit                                            Page Number
------    ----------------------                                            -----------

<S>       <C>                                                               <C>
(4a)      2000 Stock Incentive Plan                                               6

(4b)      Forms of Stock Option Grants (Incorporated by reference from
          ANTEC Corporation's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal
          year ended December 31, 1999 as Exhibit 10.4(b).)

(5)       Opinion and Consent of James E. Knox, Esq.                              8

(23)      Consent of Independent Auditors                                         9

(24)      Powers of Attorney                                                     10
</TABLE>


                                       5
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "description": "ANTEC CORPORATION", "secsgml_size_bytes": 15774}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "ANTEC CORP", "cik": "0000908610", "assigned-sic": "3663", "irs-number": "363892082", "state-of-incorporation": "DE", "fiscal-year-end": "1231"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-37030", "film-number": "631599"}, "business-address": {"street1": "2850 W GOLF RD", "street2": "SUITE 600", "city": "ROLLING MEADOWS", "state": "IL", "zip": "60008", "phone": "8474394444"}, "mail-address": {"street1": "2850 W GOLF ROAD", "city": "ROLLING MEADOWS", "state": "IL", "zip": "60008"}}
1

      As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 15, 2000
                                                            File No. 33-________

================================================================================

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                              WASHINGTON, DC 20549
                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                                ANTEC CORPORATION
             (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

       DELAWARE                                         36-3892082
(State or other jurisdiction of                       (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)                        Identification No.)

                             11450 TECHNOLOGY CIRCLE
                                DULUTH, GA 30097
                                 (678) 473-2000

          (Address, including zip code and telephone number, including
            area code, of registrant's principal executive offices)

                                ANTEC CORPORATION
                            2000 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
                            (Full Title of the Plan)

                              Lawrence A. Margolis
                             11450 Technology Circle
                              Duluth, Georgia 30097
                     (Name and Address of Agent for Service)
                                 (678) 473-2000
          (Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service)

                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
====================================================================================================================
                                                                           Proposed Maximum
     Title of Securities         Amount to be       Maximum Offering      Aggregate Offering        Amount of
      To be Registered            Registered       Price Per Share (1)        Price (1)         Registration Fee
Common Stock ($.01 per
 Share par value)..........    2,500,000 shares        $43.72              $109,300,000             $28,856.00

====================================================================================================================
(1) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee on the
    basis of the average of the high and low prices of the Registrant's
    Common Stock as reported on the NASDAQ Stock Market on May 12, 2000.
2

                                     PART II
               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

ITEM 3. INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.

         The following documents, which have heretofore been filed by ANTEC
Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "Commission") pursuant to the Securities Act of 1993,
as amended (the "Securities Act"), and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the "Exchange Act"), are incorporated by reference herein and shall be
deemed to be part hereof:

         (a)      The Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
                  December 31, 1999.

         (b)      The description of the Company's Common Stock under the
                  caption "Description of Registrant's Securities to be
                  Registered" included in the Company's Registration Statement
                  on Form 8-A dated September 2, 1993 and amended on September
                  14, 1993.

         (c)      The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the calendar
                  quarter ended March 31, 2000.

         All documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant to Section
         13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
         prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that
         all securities offered have been sold or which deregisters all
         securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated
         herein by reference and shall be deemed a part hereof from the date of
         filing such documents.

ITEM 4. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES.

         Not applicable.

ITEM 5. INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL.

         Certain Legal matters with respect to the legality of the Common Stock
offered hereby will be passed upon for the Company by James E. Knox, General
Counsel and Assistant Secretary of the Company. Mr. Knox holds a total of
approximately 70,000 options to acquire shares of ANTEC's Common Stock.

ITEM 6. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

         Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the "DGCL")
authorizes and the Company's By-laws require the Company to indemnify the
directors and officers of the Company against liabilities incurred in connection
with, and related expenses resulting from, any claim, action or suit brought
against any such person as a result of his relationship with the Company,
provided that such persons acted in accordance with a stated standard of conduct
in connection with the acts or events on which such claim, action or suit is
based. The finding of either civil or criminal liability on the part of such
persons in connection with such acts or events is not necessarily determinative
of the questions of whether such persons have met the required standard of
conduct and are, accordingly, entitled to be indemnified.

         In addition, the Company's Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as
amended, provides that the Company's directors do not have personal liability to
the Company or its stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of their
fiduciary duty as directors except (i) for a breach of the duty of loyalty, (ii)
for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct
or knowing violation of the law, (iii) for willful or negligent violations of
certain provisions in the DGCL imposing certain requirements with respect to
stock repurchases, redemptions and dividends or (iv) for any transaction from
which the director derived an improper personal benefit. Subject to these
exceptions, directors do not have any personal liability to the Company or its
stockholders for any violation of their fiduciary duty.

                                       2
3

         The Company has purchased insurance policies that, if any officer or
director of the Company or its subsidiaries becomes legally obligated to make a
payment (including legal fees and expenses) in connection with an alleged
wrongful act, the insurer will reimburse such officers and directors if the
indemnification payments, as provided above, are not made by the Company or its
subsidiaries to such officers and directors. Wrongful act means any breach of
duty, neglect, error, misstatement, misleading statement or other act done by an
officer or director of the Company or any subsidiary.

ITEM 7. EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED.

         Not applicable.

ITEM 8. EXHIBITS.

         See Exhibit Index, which is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 9. UNDERTAKINGS.

         The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

                  1.       To file, during any period in which offers or sales
                           are being made, a post-effective amendment to this
                           registration statement:

                           (i)      To include any prospectus required by
                                    section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of
                                    1933;

                           (ii)     To reflect in the prospectus any facts or
                                    events arising after the effective date of
                                    the registration statement (or most recent
                                    post-effective amendment thereof) which,
                                    individually or in the aggregate, represent
                                    a fundamental change in the information set
                                    forth in the registration statement;

                           (iii)    To include any material information with
                                    respect to the plan of distribution not
                                    previously disclosed in the registration
                                    statement or any material change to such
                                    information in the registration statement;

                                    Provided, however, that paragraphs (1)(i)
                                    and (1)(ii) do not apply if the registration
                                    statement is on Form S-3 or Form S-8, and
                                    the information required to be included in
                                    the post-effective amendment by those
                                    paragraphs is contained in periodic reports
                                    filed by the registrant pursuant to Section
                                    13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities
                                    Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated
                                    by reference in the registration statement.

                  2.       That, for the purpose of determining any liability
                           under the Securities Act of 1933, each such
                           post-effective amendment shall be deemed a new
                           registration statement relating to the securities
                           offered therein, and the offering of such securities
                           at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
                           fide offering thereof.

                  3.       To remove from registration by means of
                           post-effective amendment any of the securities being
                           registered that remain unsold at the termination of
                           the offering.

         The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the
registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an
employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the
registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities
at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

                                       3
4

                                   SIGNATURES

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that is has duly caused this registration statement, or
amendment thereto, to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Duluth, State of Georgia, on May 12, 2000.

                                             ANTEC CORPORATION
                                             /s/  LAWRENCE A. MARGOLIS
                                             ----------------------------------
                                                    Lawrence A. Margolis
                                                    Executive Vice President

    Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, this
registration statement has been signed below by the following persons on behalf
of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
/s/ ROBERT J. STANZIONE               President, Chief Executive Officer and Director       May 12, 2000
            ------------------------
              Robert J. Stanzione

              /s/ JOHN M. EGAN *                  Chairman of the Board and Director                    May 12, 2000
              -------------------
                  John M. Egan

            /s/ LAWRENCE A. MARGOLIS              Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer     May 12, 2000
            ------------------------
              Lawrence A. Margolis

             /s/ MARK J. SCAGLIUSO                VP, Chief Accounting and Information Officer          May 12, 2000
             ---------------------
               Mark J. Scagliuso

             /s/ ROD F. DAMMEYER *                Director                                              May 12, 2000
             ---------------------
                Rod F. Dammeyer

              /s/ JOHN R. PETTY *                 Director                                              May 12, 2000
              -------------------
                 John R. Petty

                                                  Director
-------------------------------------------
                 Larry Romrell

             /s/ BRUCE VAN WAGNER *               Director                                              May 12, 2000
             ----------------------
                Bruce Van Wagner

             /s/ SAMUEL K. SKINNER *              Director                                              May 12, 2000
             -----------------------
               Samuel K. Skinner

              /s/ JAMES L. FAUST *                Director                                              May 12, 2000
              --------------------
                 James L. Faust

              /s/ J. A. IAN CRAIG *               Director                                              May 12, 2000
              ---------------------
                J. A. Ian Craig

           /s/ WILLIAM T. SCHLEYER *              Director                                              May 12, 2000
           -------------------------
              William T. Schleyer

             /s/ WILLIAM H. LAMBERT *             Director                                              May 12, 2000
             ------------------------
               William H. Lambert

          BY /s/ LAWRENCE A. MARGOLIS
          ---------------------------
              Lawrence A. Margolis
(as attorney in fact for each person indicated)
4
5

                                  EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit                                                                      Sequential
Number    Description of Exhibit                                            Page Number
------    ----------------------                                            -----------
(4a)      2000 Stock Incentive Plan                                               6

(4b)      Forms of Stock Option Grants (Incorporated by reference from
          ANTEC Corporation's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal
          year ended December 31, 1999 as Exhibit 10.4(b).)

(5)       Opinion and Consent of James E. Knox, Esq.                              8

(23)      Consent of Independent Auditors                                         9

(24)      Powers of Attorney                                                     10
5