It may happen that very soon the biggest cable TV networks will be offering the Internet with the data rates higher than 100 Mbit/s. The reason is the new DOCSIS 3.0 standard which is being tested also in Poland. The PasjaGSM.pl claims that ultra-fast Internet links will have been offered by the cable TV operators by the end of this year.
Marcin Ułasik from VECTOR describes the DOCSIS 3.0 standard for all readers of PasjaGSM.pl.
What is the DOCSIS 3.0 standard? It is the next version of the fast data transmission standard for cable TV networks (Data Over Cable System Interface Specification). In comparison with the old versions the DOCSIS 3.0 allows:
- flexible configuration of the system including the network traffic reconfiguration and customer demands,
- usage of the up-to-date integrated circuits available on the market in order to reduce system costs,
- substantial increase of maximum data rate which can be offered for subscribers.
The general idea of the standard is “more services for less money” – the subscribers can be offered a broader bandwidth for lower subscription fee. The deployment moment is ideal – increasing demand for bandwidth, more content available in the Internet, higher resolutions of shared files.
The standard is half-baked – the providers announce that next year the proper technologies for 160 Mbit/s download and 120 Mbit/s upload will appear. In practice, the download and upload subscriber speed can be higher, and the cable modem providers announce software updates to the new standard of currently offered modems.
source: VECTOR
As much as the DSL folks would like to disbelieve, DOCSIS 3.0 is here today, works quite well, and will be ubiquitous in just a few years. Below are a few quotes indicating progress and expected penetration for DOCSIS 3.0.
From Broadcom’s 2Q09 earnings call (he means DOCSIS 3.0 when he refers to DOCSIS),
Scott McGregor, Broadcom’s CEO, said “Absolutely, I do believe we were seeing continued move over to DOCSIS. That’s more next year phenomena, but HD continues to be a phenomenon. People will buy a new TV set and they really want to get the better picture quality.”
Pike and Fisher have released a report covering DOCSIS 3.0, and they predict universal coverage in a few years. From their report summary…
We conclude that the top cable operators will have DOCSIS 3.0 covering 100% of homes passed by the end of 2013, and that MSOs can significantly shorten the time to achieve a return on their DOCSIS 3.0 investments by aggressively targeting business customers.
Comcast is going full speed ahead with DOCSIS 3.0. From DSLReports…
“We have raised our goal to roll out DOCSIS 3.0 to nearly 80% of our national footprint before the end of this year,” Comcast spokesman Charlie Douglas tells us. “That would mean passing about 40 million homes and businesses with the new wideband offerings Extreme 50 and Ultra 22, in addition to doubling speeds for existing Premier customers for no additional cost,” he notes.
Source: fttxtra
Introduction
Cable modems and technology based on Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS®) and EuroDOCSIS allow very high speed data communications over a cable network. You could say that DOCSIS and EuroDOCSIS technology is to cable what DSL is (tries to be) to a traditional telephony network.
Worldwide cable operators have transitioned from a traditional core business of TV entertainment programming to a position as full-service providers of video, voice, and data telecommunications services. EuroDOCSIS is among the fundamental technologies making this transition possible.
EuroDOCSIS defines interface specifications for cable modems, cable modem termination systems and embedded cable modems within a TV set-top box (DVB-C). It is based on the CableLabs DOCSIS® specifications.
There is no difference between EuroDOCSIS and DOCSIS other than the physical specification of a European cable network compared to a US cable network. One frequency channel on a European cable network has a spectrum of 8Mhz, while a US cable network uses 6 Mhz per channel.
EuroDOCSIS 3.0: A lot more speed
The latest version of EuroDOCSIS -version 3.0- is a breakthrough technology for European cable operators and consumers. It already allows data speeds of 160 Mbps downstream and 120 Mbps.
Most remarkable about EuroDOCSIS 3.0 is that it bundles minimum 4 frequency channels of the cable network together whereas previous versions of EuroDOCSIS used only one frequency channel. This makes EuroDOCSIS 3.0 at least 4 times faster than the previous EuroDOCSIS version. As EuroDOCSIS 3.0 has no limit in how many channels it can bundle, the speed for data communications via cable will progressively increase to a multitude of 160Mbps/120Mbps.
EuroDOCSIS 3.0 also responds to the increased demand for IP addresses by integrating the new Internet Protocol version 6 (IP vs6). The demand for more IP addresses is generated by an array of new Internet enabled devices (laptops, PVRs, mobile phones, etc.).
World standards for cable
Cable Europe Labs joined forces with CableLabs to develop the new DOCSIS 3.0 / EuroDOCSIS 3.0 specifications. This has allowed to integrated the specific needs of the European cable operators in this technology from its inception.
The development of DOCSIS 3.0 / EuroDOCSIS 3.0 is an important step forward in the development of world standards for cable technology. For the first time, the DOCSIS and EuroDOCSIS specifications were published in the same document and released at the same time.
Thanks to greater consistency across cable technologies developed for Europe, North America and other regions in the world, consumers will enjoy rapid deployment of innovative broadband technologies, as well as lower prices.
For vendors, standardised cable technologies reduce development risk and allow to invest more research and development in new high-level and cost-efficient cable products.
Previous versions of EuroDOCSIS
The four successive versions of the EuroDOCSIS cable modem, EuroDOCSIS 1.0, EuroDOCSIS 1.1, EuroDOCSIS 2.0, and now EuroDOCSIS 3.0, provide increasing levels of capabilities and functionality, while maintaining multi-vendor interoperability and full cross-version compatibility of EuroDOCSIS.
EuroDOCSIS 1.0
Basic specification derived from DOCSIS 1.0 offering best-effort data communication.
First certification wave mid 2000.
EuroDOCSIS 1.1
Adds service flows that enables quality of service and adds enhanced security based on certificates. First certification wave end 2001.
EuroDOCSIS 2.0
Offers enhanced upstream throughput using advanced (A-TDMA and S-CDMA) modulation techniques. First certification wave end 2003.
EuroDOCSIS 3.0
Introduces channel bonding in the up- and downstream, enhanced security, IPv6.
The first set of specifications is already available.
source: cableeurope
Asta-Net is the next cable TV operator which introduces DOCSIS 3.0 I-CMTS in cooperation with VECTOR.
The DOCSIS 3.0 I-CMTS data transmission system allows offering the Internet access services with data speed higher than 100 Mbit/s. It also makes possible to use the IP protocol for video transmission (IPTV services). The new system reduces the operational costs of cable TV operators by the power reduction and increases efficiency and reliability of the solution. It reduces the cost per each Mb of the network traffic.
Astra-Net has appreciated the advantages of DOCSIS 3.0. The company has been present in the Wielkopolska district since 1989. The company offers services in the area of cable TV, broadband Internet access, digital TV and telephony. The offered products have the highest quality and are based on the latest technological solutions responding for increasing customer needs.
“The deployment of the DOCSIS 3.0 system will allow us to offer fast data transmission services up to 200 Mbit/s and to broaden our offer with new services responding for needs of more and more demanding customers. Our competitiveness will be higher thanks to the deployed system. The reduction of the transmission cost is also very important for us, as well as the flexibility of downstream and upstream configuration”, said Mr. Zbigniew Ryczek, the President of the Astra-Net board of directors.
The DOCSIS 3.0 I-CMTS fast data transmission system arouses interest of cable operators offering TV, data and telephone services. VECTOR will be informing about the system introduction by the next cable operators.
source: VECTOR
I’ve been collecting content from panels, conversations, and demos, but it takes time to turn that raw information into coherent posts. So in the meantime, here’s a selection of photos from the Motorola booth on The Cable Show floor: 3D TV, new DOCSIS 3.0 retail modems, Internet apps on the set-top, and more.
source: connectedhome2go.com