The Data over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) standard, which can provide speeds of up to 10Gbps on existing hybrid fibre-coax cable television networks, is moving closer to commercial market adoption.
CableLabs, the industry’s non-profit research consortium, said six technology specialists successfully completed interoperability tests of DOCSIS 3.1 equipment in early December.
DOCSIS 3.1, first introduced in October 2013, promises to support shared downstream transmission of up to 10 Gbps and 1 Gbps upstream and higher data rates.
It can also transmit up to 50% more data over the same spectrum on existing HFC networks, while other benefits include improved quality of experience via Active Queue Management and increased cable modem energy efficiency.
"The remarkable speed at which DOCSIS 3.1 has gone from concept, to specification, to interoperability testing demonstrates the great value of collaboration by industry stakeholders," said Phil McKinney, president and CEO of CableLabs.
"This is a great step forward toward future deployment."
According to Multichannel news, Cisco was one of six the vendors that participated in the trials.
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Tom Lookabaugh, chief research and development officer at CableLabs, added: "The success of this first DOCSIS 3.1 interop validates that multi-Gigabit services will soon be a reality for cable broadband customers."
Cable Labs is planning another interoperability test in January and plenty more throughout 2015.
