Not waiting for hardware based on new DOCSIS 3.1 silicon, Comcast has begun testing some of the basic technology in field trials in its networks.
The company is using bespoke equipment to test a new modulation technology that promises to increase the carrying capacity of cable networks.
Comcast vice president of access architecture Jorge Salinger said the company is now testing OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) in one of his networks. Salinger’s remarks were reported by Light Reading (story here).
Salinger confirmed that the company intends to spend 2015 getting its networks prepared for deployment of DOCSIS 3.1 in 2016.
Broadcom in January was first to announce it had fabbed a DOCSIS 3.1 chipset (story here).
The DOCSIS 3.1 certification program is proceeding, with CableLabs having already conducted three equipment interops, with several more planned for the near future, Light Reading quoted CableLabs director of network technologies Belal Hamzeh saying. The organization’s goal is to be ready to start officially certifying equipment by the middle of May.
