Zoom Telephonics said today its DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem is shipping in large volumes to retail stores across the nation, including Best Buy, Micro Center and Staples.
Zoom Telephonics’ Model 5341 passed CableLabs’ certification wave 73 back in March, but the company elected to hold off on the retail shipments until it had received certification from Cox Communications and Comcast Communications.
“We are extremely pleased that we now have the range of certifications necessary to sell our new DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem at retail in North America,” said Zoom President and CEO Frank Manning. “Zoom is among a very limited number of manufacturers who have the retail relationships, technical expertise, production capabilities and customer support infrastructure needed to accomplish this.”
Zoom’s 5341 uses Texas Instruments’ chipset to bond four upstream and four downstream channels. A spokeswoman for Zoom said that the modem was currently in use on Cox and Comcast systems.
By using a modem purchased in a retail store, cable subscribers can eliminate their cable modem rental charges, which Zoom said were typically $60 per year.
A price check at Best Buy this morning showed Zoom’s 3.0 modem selling for $89.99 plus shipping.
