Turns out plain old DOCSIS 3.1 isn’t the end of the line.
CableLabs recently revealed it is working on a symmetric multi-gigabit version of the new specification, dubbed Full Duplex.
According to a Tuesday blog post, CableLabs said the upgraded specification will allow for symmetrical upstream and downstream speeds of up to 10 gbps on 1 GHz hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) networks. CableLabs said even higher performance could be achieved by using the spectrum that is currently available for the expansion above 1 GHz.
The change would be a massive upstream boost from DOCSIS 3.1, which currently only allows for upstream speeds as high as 2 gbps. DOCSIS 3.1 currently supports downstream speeds of 10 gbps.
Though CableLabs’ Senior Vice President of Network Technology Dan Rice said in a comment on the post that CableLabs is very excited about the current DOCSIS 3.1 roll outs, he said the organization is continually looking forward.
“CableLabs’ role is to provide technology tools for the future of the industry, and a tool that makes symmetrical speeds possible will be very valuable if applications bandwidth profiles change or there is proven demand that drives needs for more upstream capacity or higher upstream speeds,” CableLabs’ Senior Vice President of Network Technology Dan Rice wrote in a comment on the post.
To achieve such speeds, CableLabs said the technology uses a combination of passive HFC and “the self-interference cancellation and intelligent scheduling of DOCSIS 3.1 technology.”
Unlike existing technologies that utilize Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) or Time Division Duplexing (TDD), CableLabs said Full Duplex uses the same spectrum at the same time for upstream and downstream traffic.
Rice said in another comment that Full Duplex will represent an extension of DOCSIS 3.1. The technology will be backward compatible and exist on networks with DOCSIS 3.0 modems, but will not be a firmware upgrade to a DOCSIS 3.0-only modem, he said.
CableLabs said it will be working with members and vendors over the next few months to further validate and mature the technology, and will move the effort into an R&D project open to all if the initial tests go well.
Just last month, CableLabs issued its first DOCSIS 3.1 certifications to five cable modem vendors, including Askey, Castlenet, Netgear, Technicolor and Ubee Interactive.
DOCSIS 3.1 deployments efforts from Comcast and Midco are currently underway. Comcast has said it plans to push deployments throughout 2016 and cover its entire network footprint with DOCSIS 3.1 by 2018.
According to a recent forecast by ABI Research, nearly 9 million broadband subscribers are expected to be using DOCSIS 3.1 equipment by 2017.
