Certification testing for 100Mbps cable modems begins, 2008 rollout eyed

[D-Bone]

CableLabs has begun testing the first set of DOCSIS 3.0 gear, as five companies have submitted cable modems to the organization for official approval. We've seen precertification equipment tested, and some cable ISPs in Asia have rolled out pre-DOCSIS 3.0 equipment, but this is the first set of gear to be tested for compliance with the final DOCSIS 3.0 standard.

Cable ISPs currently use DOCSIS 1.1, which has been "good enough" in the past. Unfortunately, when compared to fiber, DOCSIS 1.1 lacks in the speed department. DOCSIS 3.0 has the potential to drastically change that, with download speeds of up to 160Mbps and uploads of up to 120Mbps possible. In addition, DOCSIS 3.0 also offers full support for IPv6, along with enhanced network management and security features. DOCSIS 3.0 also offers enough bandwidth for IPTV and other high-def video services.

Trials of pre-DOCSIS 3.0 gear have been promising. One of the deployments mentioned above has resulted in download speeds of 100Mbps for customers of a South Korean ISP that has a reach of 1.1 million subscribers. Another DOCSIS 3.0 trial in Singapore earlier this year saw speeds of up to 145Mbps.

Read More: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071123-certification-testing-for-100mbps-cable-modems-begins-2008-rollout-eyed.html

[Dante]

And we will see this in the states in about 10 years.

[D-Bone]

Source: http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/20-of-Comcast-Users-To-See-DOCSIS-30-in-2008-89821

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.