Cisco introduced a new Broadband Processing Engine for its flagship uBR10012 Universal Broadband Router and Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS). 
The new line card aims to accelerates the transition of cable operators to an all-IP network. Significantly, it enables DOCSIS 3.0 bonding of up to 24 channels for downstream speeds approaching 1.0 Gbps. Comcast, Cox and others are testing the new 3G60 line card.
Designed as a modular CMTS solution, the 3G60 will help cable operators use universal-edge quadrature amplitude modulation, or QAM, products with more channels per port, lowering the cost and environmental overhead for all services. Some key features:
- the card provides 72 downstream and 60 upstream channels with full DOCSIS 3.0 capabilities per module to boost overall bandwidth capacity and alleviate high-traffic network pressures.
- the upstream and downstream channels on the 3G60 can be provisioned via software licensing, and customers can install the card and pay only for the channels they use.
- compared with the Cisco DOCSIS 2.0 solution with the uBR-MC5X20H line card, the downstream channel capacity has increased 10-fold, and the upstream channel capacity has increased threefold, per line card.
- using the 3G60, a single uBR10012 can support up to 576 downstream and 480 upstream channels per chassis. This is the highest CMTS capacity and density in the industry.
- the 3G60 supports DOCSIS 3.0 downstream channel bonding of up to 24 channels, allowing downstream speeds approaching 1.0 gigabit per second.
- the uBR10012 together with the 3G60 line card supports the full set of DOCSIS 3.0 features at scale, including IPv6, and supports advanced features such as dynamic bandwidth sharing. Cable operators can rest assured that the CMTS solutions they purchase today will support large-scale IP video services and enable the migration to an all-IP network in the near future.
