CommScope announced several areas of progress on its 10G Broadband roadmap
- A low-latency DOCSIS system deemed crucial to next-generation broadband performance. The company is demonstrating IP video running alongside traditional QAM video over an EPON channel at 10 Gbps.
- A software-configurable Frequency-Division Duplex (Soft FDD) system with the potential to deliver 10G speeds over traditional coaxial wiring. Soft FDD uses FDX technology and provides a foundation for symmetrical services.
- The E6000 vCore fully virtualized converged cable access platform (CCAP) core. This offers automated provisioning and capacity tools for end-to-end service provisioning and smart capacity additions; and orchestration and intelligence tools to manage multi-access configurations and produce better analytics about network performance.
The three technologies will be demonstrated at the ANGA COM trade show.
CommScope notes that these announcements come fewer than six months after it revealed its role in pioneering the core technologies for 10 Gbps broadband (10G), and just four months after it announced a 8.5 Gbps network trial with Virgin Media.
In addition, Vodafone Germany is underway with a nationwide upgrade to support 1Gbps service. Some 12 million customers will enjoy the high-speed Gigabit service through an ARRIS broadband device when the rollout is complete. Swiss provider Sasag last month became the first European operator to announce upgrading its entire network to use DOCSIS 3.1 (D3.1) for both the upstream and downstream channels.
“As cable operators embark on their far-reaching network transformation, which includes the migration to 10G and virtualization of the CCAP, CommScope is rising to the challenge, delivering the complex solutions they will need such as low latency DOCSIS, soft FDD and virtualized CCAP,” said Liliane Offredo-Zreik, principal digital transformation analyst with consulting and market analysis firm ACG Research. “Operators’ needs in this transformation will be far from homogeneous; they will require a vendor with the depth and breadth of expertise and solutions to meet their evolving needs.”
CommScope completed its acquisition of ARRIS International in April.
Cable industry outlines vision for 10G services
NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, CableLabs and Cable Europe outilined a vision for delivering 10G consumer broadband services in the United States and across the globe in the coming years.
Cable operators in the U.S., whose networks currently pass 85 percent of U.S. homes, including Comcast, Charter, Cox, Mediacom, Midco and others – plus international operators, including Rogers, Shaw Communications, Vodafone, Taiwan Broadband Communications, Telecom Argentina, Liberty Global and more, are implementing the new 10G initiative, with lab trials already underway, and field trials beginning in 2020. 1 gigabit service is currently available across 80% of the cable footprint in the U.S., up from 5% in 2016.
Intel promises 10G-ready technology from the network infrastructure to home gateways.
“With groundbreaking, scalable capacity and speeds, the 10G platform is the wired network of the future that will power the digital experiences and imaginations of consumers for years to come,” said NCTA President and CEO Michael Powell. “As an industry, we are dedicated to delivering an exceptional national infrastructure that will power digital advancement and propel our innovation economy into the future.”
