Wednesday, February 5, 2003

TI Introduces DOCSIS 2.0 Software and Hardware Solution

Texas Instruments (TI) introduced its next generation single chip cable modem platform based on the DOCSIS 2.0 standard. The device integrates the DOCSIS Media Access Controller (MAC) and Physical Layers (PHY) with a high-performance communications processor and peripherals for networking and communication applications. The chip includes both advanced time division multiple access (A-TDMA) and synchronous code division multiple access (S-CDMA) modes of DOCSIS 2.0. A high-speed serial interface will support expansions for additional interface options including voice and wireless LAN. The solution also includes the same DOCSIS software that has been deployed in all of the modems shipped by TI to its customers over the last year.
http://www.ti.com/docsis

  • DOCSIS 2.0 adds throughput in the upstream portion of the cable plant -- from the consumer out to the Internet -- creating a network that has 30 Mbps capacity in two directions. DOCSIS 2.0 also ensures a more robust communications channel than was available with previous versions of the DOCSIS specification, as well as support for lifeline services. Two modulation techniques are supported: S-CDMA (synchronous code division multiple access) and A-TDMA (advanced frequency agile time division multiple access).


  • The current DOCSIS 1.0 provides about 5 Mbps upstream per 6 MHz channel, while DOCSIS 1.1 provides 10 Mbps upstream. DOCSIS 1.1 also supports tiered levels of traffic, which is expected to open the door for advanced cable services, including integration with home networking (the CableHome project), packet telephony and multimedia offerings.


  • In December 2002, the International Telecommunications Union -- Telecommunication Sector (ITU-T), approved DOCSIS 2.0 as an international standard. Also in December 2002, CableLabs awarded the first wave of certifications for DOCSIS 2.0 compliance for products from five companies: modems from Motorola, Scientific-Atlanta, Terayon, Texas Instruments and Xrosstech, and a cable modem termination system (CMTS) from Terayon.