Technicolor Helps Comcast Deliver the Potential of DOCSIS 3.1

DOCSIS 3.1 offers huge potential benefits for cable operators: data download speeds as high as 10 Gbps and upload speeds as high as 2 Gbps over existing hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) lines as well as enhanced Quality of Service. This explains why Comcast and Technicolor are working together to begin delivering those benefits to customers. Using Technicolor modem technology, Comcast deployed advanced DOCSIS 3.1-powered service early this year with plans to expand the service over the course of 2016.

Technicolor DOCSIS 3.1 modems were certified in January 2016 by CableLabs, the non-profit research and development consortium of cable operators that released the initial spec in 2013. DOCSIS 3.1, CableLabs’ fourth-generation specification, is designed to help cable operators successfully compete with telcos and other ISPs equipped with fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) networks in the emerging Gigabit era.

Equipment manufacturers began developing cable modems and cable modem termination systems (CMTS) to validate end-to-end DOCSIS 3.1 operation last year after system-on-a-chip (SoC) vendors released their initial silicon. This year, Comcast has launched DOCSIS 3.1, and progress will continue in 2017 as CMTS upstream development and trials continue, DOCSIS 3.1-ready cable modems are rolled out into most markets and initial DOCSIS 3.1 gateways are now available.

[subscribe_reminder]Ongoing trials are expected to help operators better understand how to use DOCSIS 3.1 to meet such challenges as the Wi-Fi device explosion, demand for advanced Over-the-Top (OTT) services, 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) video, and increasingly tech-savvy customers.

Thanks to its expertise in media entertainment and in ultra-broadband, Technicolor is helping Comcast rapidly deploy the technology over its existing network. Following multiple trials for both residential and business customers, Comcast has launched its ‘Gigabit Pro’ internet service to early adopters in several neighborhoods in Atlanta. Additional rollouts are planned later this year.

Earlier in April, Technicolor and Comcast co-presented a Light Reading webinar on the latest advances towards DOCSIS3.1, which covered topics such as:

• Evolution of the DOCSIS 3.1 spec and its implications on the broadband market
• DOCSIS 3.1 rollout efforts and challenges for cable operators and equipment suppliers
• Services enabled by DOCSIS 3.1 (managed IP video, home security, etc.)
• Early lessons learned by Comcast and other DOCSIS 3.1 pioneers in the world.

To learn more about these topics, a full executive report and webinar are available.