Cable telecommunications equipment developer and manufacturer ARRIS on October 12 announced the commercial launch of two new DOCSIS 3.1 cable modems. In a press release, ARRIS claims its carrier-grade Touchstone CM8200 can distribute data at data rates of more than 5 Gbps downstream and 2 Gbps upstream.
ARRIS is also launching a retail version of the DOCSIS 3.1 powered modem – the SURFboard SB8200 offers the same set of performance features.
DOCSIS 3.1 Cable Modem Speeds
ARRIS’s president of customer premises equipment (CPE) Larry Robinson commented on the significance of the two new DOCSIS 3.1 cable modems. “DOCSIS 3.1 is the solution for delivering tomorrow’s gigabit speeds on today’s networks, and ARRIS is in a unique position to bring this technology to market in scale,” he was quoted in the press release.
ARRIS is positioning the DOCSIS 3.1 modem to complement their DOCSIS 3.1 networking equipment line. Several cable companies, most notably Comcast, have already announced their DOCSIS 3.1 intentions. These DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem speeds may allow cable companies to reclaim their broadband speed dominance – a claim that’s become increasingly difficult to do thanks to fiber based gigabit services.
DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem speeds will easily achieve the 1 Gbps bogey, which is becoming the benchmark for next generation broadband. Comcast already signaled its intention to keep the broadband speed crown with a pre-DOCSIS 3.1 launch of 2 Gbps speeds, using FTTH. They intend a much broader gigabit launch in 2016 with DOCSIS 3.1.
