DOCSIS 3.0 » bandwidth

J:COM Goes with Motorola for DOCSIS 3.0 Deployment

polszewski — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:26:03 +0000

I’m still on vacation here, but of course that doesn’t mean the news stops. Motorola racked up another DOCSIS 3.0 win today with Japan’s largest broadband operator, Jupiter Telecommunications (J:COM). The deal includes both Motorola CMTSs (the BSR 64000) and cable modems (the SB6120s). For some reason the press release isn’t showing up on the Motorola media center, so I thought it worth drawing attention to the announcement. Even as CableLabs certification waves roll on, channel-bonding deployments continue around the world for those who don’t want to wait. Particularly in parts of Asia where the 100 Mb home is expected, waiting for channel bonding isn’t really an option.

source: connectedhome2go.com

Motorola Modems and CMTS Come Through DOCSIS 3.0 Cert Wave 58

polszewski — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:18:18 +0000

The Certification Wave 58 results are out! Motorola received DOCSIS 3.0 certification for its SB6120 and SBV6220 cable modems and DOCSIS 3.0 bronze qualification for the Motorola BSR 64000 cable modem termination system (CMTS). I had a chance to sit down quickly with Motorola’s Chris Kohler to discuss the modem certifications and recorded the conversation/interview in a podcast. The recording runs a bit longer than eight minutes: the first 2-3 minutes are specifically on the certification and first deployment of these DOCSIS 3.0 modems; the next section is on worldwide DOCSIS 3.0 trends, including the US; and the final section after about five minutes is on the future of Motorola’s modem and gateway products. (Think media servers.)

source: connectedhome2go.com

Bandwidth News to Watch and More DOCSIS 3.0

polszewski — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:00:37 +0000

Time Warner is testing 40GB caps on broadband service, but it’s hardly the only operator moving forward with caps. Rogers in Canada is starting to charge users for going over their monthly maximums. Broadband tiers start at “Ultra Lite” with a 2 GB cap and go up to “Extreme Plus” service with a 95 GB cap.

Also from Broadband Reports, Comcast is promising a 100 Mbps service by 2010. No word on upstream speed, but that’s still an impressive jump from the downstream speed tiers offered today.

And from CableLabs, the first digital voice modems have now been DOCSIS 3.0 certified. Among them, the Motorola SBV6220, which was initially certified for its data component in Certification Wave 58.

source: connectedhome2go.com

DOCSIS 3.0 in Korea

polszewski — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:58:35 +0000

Motorola announced its third DOCSIS 3.0 customer in Korea this week. Cable operator Qrix Communications is deploying both the Motorola DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem termination system (CMTS) platform and Motorola DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems, joining the likes of Korean operators C&M and CJ CableNet.

Basic info:

Qrix will use the Motorola BSR 64000 CMTS with TX32 decoupled downstream module and the Motorola SB6120 cable modems
The DOCSIS 3.0 equipment for Qrix provides up to 160 Mbps of throughput
The Motorola gear is backwards compatible, supporting legacy DOCSIS 1.x and 2.0 modems

source: connectedhome2go.com

Grab On – DOCSIS 3.0 is Here!

polszewski — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:54:05 +0000

Not only that, but there’s a quote worth noting from a Multichannel News article that ran last weekend:

Motorola has started shipping production volumes of DOCSIS 3.0 modems to a large North American MSO that is planning to turn on service before the end of the month, said Chris Kohler director of engineering for Motorola’s broadband solutions group.

There’s a post on Broadband Reports today about pre-DOCSIS 3.0 technology suggesting that certified DOCSIS 3.0 technology is not available. It is! In fact, Motorola has already deployed DOCSIS 3.0 modems and CMTS gear. The first commercial DOCSIS 3.0 deployment came through J:COM in Japan, and Motorola has since deployed with Korean customers as well.

While the DOCSIS 3.0 rollouts have felt like slow going, there is momentum building, not least because cable operators see revenue opportunities in data services. Sure, traditional video is the historical bread and butter of the cable industry, but it’s not where the margins are today. Cable operators have a lot to gain by investing in higher data speeds.

source: connectedhome2go.com

The Internet is Getting Faster

polszewski — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:32:20 +0000

Every once in a while I find it useful to do a status check of Internet speed tiers. With that in mind, here’s a look at what major operators across the US are promoting, along with a nod to a few noteworthy international players.

Cox Communications: Currently has a premier speed tier with 15 Mbps downstream (20 Mbps with PowerBoost), but has upgraded many of its systems to 1GHz, giving it room for speed increases

Comcast: Launched DOCSIS 3.0-based “Extreme Tier” last year with 50 Mbps downstream and 10Mbps upstream, and plans to have 65% of markets upgraded to DOCSIS 3.0 by the end of 2009

Charter: Broke the US speed tier record with announcement of new 60 Mbps downstream service

Verizon: Introduced FTTH-based high-speed tier across its entire customer footprint with 50 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream

Time Warner Cable: Offers 20 Mbps downstream in some places, but has not yet clarified timing on DOCSIS 3.0 rollouts

Cablevision: Currently has a speed tier with 30 Mbps downstream and 5 Mbps upstream, but has imminent plans to introduce DOCSIS 3.0-enabled services

source: connectedhome2go.com

Motorola DOCSIS 3.0 Modems Now Available at Retail

polszewski — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 07:53:02 +0000

It always stinks when another site beats you to the punch with company news, but sometimes that’s the way it is. As Karl Bode over at Broadband Reports posted yesterday, Motorola DOCSIS 3.0 modems are now available from Fry’s Electronics. This is the first time DOCSIS 3.0 modems have been available at retail.

If you’ve got DOCSIS 3.0 service in your area (and more and more folks do), you can now buy your own modem as an alternative to leasing one from your cable provider. Many folks are comfortable with the lease model, but – as evidenced in the years Motorola has been selling modems at retail – there are a substantial number of consumers who like the option of owning their own modems and striking the monthly lease fee off their cable bills.

The Motorola DOCSIS 3.0 modems support speeds up to 160 Mbps. Motorola DOCSIS modems are deployed by more cable operators than any other DOCSIS modems around the world. Stay tuned for news of more retail availability…

source: connectedhome2go.com

Around the World with DOCSIS 3.0

polszewski — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 07:48:37 +0000

While I was caught up in Cable Show activities, a couple of news announcements of note hit the wire internationally. First, Motorola let drop that the company has deployed Taiwan’s first DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) with Taiwan Broadband Communications (TBC). The Asian market has been quite keen on D3 technology. Last year Motorola signed customers in both Korea and Japan.

Second, Motorola announced at Expo Canitec 2009 that its GPON and DOCSIS 3.0 solutions are ready for the Mexican market. The company has already deployed D3 gear in Brazil, but Mexico represents an entirely new opportunity. It will be interesting to watch how different broadband technologies (D3, PON, wireless, etc.) are utilized across Latin America in the coming years.

Meanwhile, DOCSIS 3.0 deployments stateside have continued apace. Analyst firm Pike and Fischer put a stake in the ground last month predicting we’ll have nearly 100% of homes passed with DOCSIS 3.0 here in the states by 2013.

source: connectedhome2go.com

20% of Comcast Users To See DOCSIS 3.0 in 2008

polszewski — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 07:08:26 +0000

Comcast gave a bit more detail on the state of their DOCSIS 3.0 upgrades at the CableNEXT Conference this week in Santa Clara, California. Comcast CTO Tony Werner told attendees that the company hopes to have Docsis 3.0 technology in place in around 20 percent of the company’s footprint by the end of next year. DOCSIS 3.0, as we’ve frequently noted, should allow the operator to eventually offer speeds in excess of 100Mbps.

Werner wouldn’t elaborate on which markets will see deployment first, but you can be sure they’ll mirror FiOS deployment. You can also be sure that users won’t see full capacity at first, the initial offerings being in the 20-50Mbps range. What about upstream speeds? Light Reading says the upgrades will focus on downstream bandwidth at first:
Although the full Docsis 3.0 specification calls for the bonding of at least four upstream and four downstream channels, initial Comcast deployments will be a downstream-only affair. That’s more a reflection of the status of upstream channel bonding technology than one of Comcast’s Docsis 3.0 service strategy. Docsis 3.0 upstream channel bonding won’t likely won’t be ready for prime time until late next year or possibly 2009.
That’s definitely going to initially hurt Comcast’s fight against FiOS, as Verizon just started offering symmetrical 15Mbps and 20Mbps service wherever FiOS is available.

source: dslreports.com