Cisco has demonstrated a DOCSIS 3.0-based system running in excess of 1.5 Gigabits per second (Gbps), with a 48-channel downstream connection. The achievement, which was demonstrated at CableLabs Winter Conference, required three of Cisco's prototype cable modes, each running 16 download channels and four upload channels.
Cable provider Comcast has started to advertise ultra high-speed, 105Mbps home Internet access, first hinted at back in May. Bundled with its Xfinity all-digital TV, Internet and home phone service, the DOCSIS 3.0-powered residential tier will be more than twice as fast as the company's current 50Mbps offering. While pricing hasn't been officially revealed, it is likely to cost $200 per month for the bundle.
Virgin Media said today that it will begin offering 100Mbps broadband service to the UK by the end of 2010. Virgin claims the speed up is possible by taking advantage of its fiber optic network in tandem with DOCSIS 3.0 cable access. The company also announced that it would add Coventry to the test of its 200Mbps service currently underway in Kent. Virgin currently offers 10Mbps, 20Mbps and 50Mbps service to its broadband customers, most of whom are cable Internet subscribers.
Comcast at the NewTeeVee Live conference said it will launch its On Demand Online on demand TV service as soon as December, according to a Thursday ConnectedHome2Go report. The cable provider added at the event that subscribers won't be charged extra and will have access to it on as many as three devices.
Though typically associated with cellphones, Motorola has announced its very first collection of modems based on the DOCSIS 3.0 standard, which has yet to deploy in any wide fashion in North America but can dramatically increase the possible bandwidth of cable Internet connections. Aimed at the average consumer is the SURFboard SB6120, which permits as much as 160Mbps in standard DOCSIS mode, or 195Mbps under Euro-DOCSIS; because of its internal design, this works without the need for hybrid support by cable operators.
A company in the Canadian province of Quebec will soon match Verizon in deploying some of the fastest consumer Internet access in North America, according to reports. Cable supplier Videotron is preparing to debut two "Ultimate Speed Internet" plans, capable of downloads at 30 and 50Mbps, respectively. This is an upgrade on the company's current top tier of 20Mbps, and takes advantage of pre-DOCSIS 3.0 technology. The plans will cost $65 and $80 CAD per month.
