Arris nabbed two customer wins with Comcast for its XGI gateway and the vendor’s E6000 Converged Edge Router (CER).
Comcast, which owns a stake in Arris, will start installing the XGI gateway on its next generation X1 platform in the third quarter of this year. Arris becomes the second vendor tabbed by Comcast for X1 after picking Pace for a trial and the initial rollouts.
The XGI was based on the Comcast Reference Design Kit (RDK), which Comcast developed to speed up the rate of innovation on set-top boxes and gateways.
The gateway was designed to be the hub of the new IP-connected home, combining powerful hardware and software to deliver multi-screen, DVR, and new apps while reducing energy use and maintenance.
The “headed” XGI followed on the heels of Arris’ “headless” MG2402, which was also built according to the RDK.
“The Arris commitment to integrating hardware and software solutions in support of our RDK initiative has been instrumental in expanding the Comcast X1 experience,” said Steve Reynolds, senior vice president of customer premise equipment and home network at Comcast. “With the flexibility of the Arris XG1, we can continue to grow our service capabilities to keep pace with today’s multi-screen trends with an eye towards the evolution of TV.”
Comcast deploys E6000
After previously trialing Arris’ E6000 cable modem termination system (CMTS), Comcast now has it in commercial deployments.
The E6000 is Arris’ flagship CMTS, but also represents a means to migrate to the cable industry’s converged cable access platform (CCAP.) Currently the E6600, which made its debut in October, is a dense CMTS, but Arris has said it will add edge QAM features into it at some point for an integrated CCAP platform.
“Comcast’s subscribers are trendsetters in driving today’s IP-enabled interactive and connected experience throughout the home and on multiple screens,” said Rob Slinkard, Comcast cable senior vice president of product management for communications and data services. “The Arris E6000 CER further optimizes our network and becomes part of Comcast’s ongoing and evolving effort to take advantage of IP technology to constantly bring new innovations to market.”
Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable have conducted field CCAP trials. Comcast has previously said it could start deploying CCAP gear next year if the products were ready.
