Charter Communications, Comcast, and Broadcom have entered into a joint development agreement for creation of unified DOCSIS chipsets for network nodes, smart amps, and cable modems, according to the companies.
The agreement aims to enable delivery of speeds as fast as 25 Gbps over existing networks. It supports mid-split and high-split configurations and covers both the extended spectrum (ESD) and full duplex (FDX) approaches.
The companies say that the DOCSIS chipset agreement will create economies of scale, promote a robust vendor ecosystem, and streamline CableLabs’ certification and operation qualification processes.
“By pushing the benefits of AI and ML to the edge of our network, we are maximizing network performance, improving the internet experience, and introducing new and exciting services to support our customers’ incredible appetite for more, higher quality data,” Charlie Herrin, Comcast’s President of Technology, Product and Experience said in a press release about the DOCSIS chipsets.
“Supporting a single technology that can be used by all operators efficiently, over their existing networks, allows the industry to leverage its collective investment, and to increase the benefits of AI at the edge.”
The press release says that the unified chipsets will dramatically enhance DOCSIS network through the use of the artificial intelligence and machine capabilities in Broadcom’s embedded neural processing unit in network nodes, smartamps, and modems.
Operational efficiency, network security, and reliability will be enhanced several ways, according to the press release:
- Channel anomaly detection and network self-healing
- Predictive network power management and reduction
- Real-time network pattern detection, classification, and optimization
- Advanced cybersecurity, intrusion detection, and phishing protection to fight AI-based attacks
- Monitoring and optimizing home IoT and WiFi device performance
The three companies also agreed to start developing a path to 25 Gbps by working to extend DOCSIS to support bandwidth on hybrid fiber coax (HFC) networks to 3 GHz.
Telecompetitor recently spoke with Comcast Chief Network Officer Elad Nafshi about the service provider’s DOCSIS 4.0 rollout. He said that full duplex amps CommScope amp deployments began about a year ago and the equipment now is available to more than a million homes in six markets.
