100Mbps cable modems already at approval stage?
updated 10:55 am EST, Wed November 21, 2007
DOCSIS 3 Modems in Testing
Cable Internet modems that meet the extra-quick DOCSIS 3 (Data over Cable Service Information Specification) standard and the hubs needed to power them are already being certified, report anonymous sources aware of the process. Major cable modem producers Arris, Motorola, and Scientific Atlanta have all submitted devices based on a Texas Instruments chip that will allow real download speeds of 100 megabits per second or more -- rivaling Ethernet connections and 802.11n Wi-Fi in terms of speed. Most of these devices will meet the "bronze" standard and will have a reduced upload speed but should still outperform DOCSIS 2 modems, which are increasingly common for most cable Internet providers.
Arris, Casa Systems, and Scientific Atlanta's parent company Cisco are also testing the CMTS (Cable Modem Termination Systems) devices that manage the equipment, which should allow Internet providers to launch at least a basic DOCSIS 3 service once the current wave of hardware is approved, the report says.
No specific completion date for the testing is listed, though the names and launch dates of two of the three modems point to releases sometime in 2008. The Motorola SB6120 should be a DOCSIS 3 update to the SB5120 (pictured) and has already been deployed with early services in Singapore and other southeast Asian countries; Scientific Atlanta's DPC3000 has not been revealed but now has a tentative introduction at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, suggesting that it and a connected service may be ready for a public debut relatively early next year.
