CableLabs appoints Mariam Sorond as Chief R&D Officer

CableLabs appointed Mariam Sorond as Senior Vice President and Chief Research & Development Officer, reporting to President and CEO Phil McKinney. Previously, Sorond served at DISH Network for more than 24 years, including as Chief Wireless Architect and Vice President of Technology Development. Sorond led the R&D effort for an innovative 5G network and created the next-generation network architecture, as well as spectrum technology, technology policy, standards development and the negotiation of technical agreements across government agencies and industry partnerships.

Prior to joining DISH, Sorond worked for several operators, including Nextel, ICO and PrimeCo, and vendors such as Lucent Technologies (now Nokia). She has served as a member of the NTIA's Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee since 2014.

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CableLabs develops Dual Channel Wi-Fi

CableLabs is developing Dual Channel Wi-Fi technology to address congestion by providing one or more channels for downstream-only data in addition to a primary bi-directional channel.

In a blog posting, Luther Smith, Director, Wireless Technology at CableLabs, describes how a primary channel could be used for upstream and small downstream packets and the others channel(s) are used for large downstream and time-critical data, like video.

https://www.cablelabs.com/a-better-wi-fi-experience-with-dual-channel-wi-fi

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CableLabs sets Point-to-Point Coherent Optics spec

CableLabs completed and published its first Point-to-Point Coherent Optics specifications for fiber access networks. The specifications enable the development of interoperable transceivers using coherent optical technology over point-to-point links.

The new specs, support 100 Gbps per wavelength, a 10X increase over the previous 10 Gbps rate, include:

• P2P Coherent Optics Architecture Specification 
• P2P Coherent Optics Physical Layer v1.0 Specification 

Coherent Optics technology uses amplitude, phase, and polarization to enable much higher fiber capacities which can improve streaming, video conferencing, file uploads and downloads and future usage needs for technologies such as virtual and augmented reality.

“CableLabs Point-to-Point Coherent Optics takes the existing fiber access network to hyper speed, boosting fiber capacity to meet the growing demand of broadband customers,” said Phil McKinney, president and chief executive officer of CableLabs. “Over half a billion people rely on CableLabs technology every day, and this breakthrough not only increases the capacity of the existing fiber system by an order of magnitude, it opens up wavelength resources to improve network quality and reliability, enabling advancements in cellular and wireless services.”

This announcement closely follows the launch of the CableLabs’ Full Duplex DOCSIS® specification in 2017, reflecting the company’s ongoing commitment to the broadband consumer community, cable and fiber providers and other key industry stakeholders.

https://apps.cablelabs.com/specification/P2PCO-SP-PHYv1.0
https://www.cablelabs.com/point-to-point-coherent-optics-specifications/

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CableLabs completes Full Duplex DOCSIS 3.1 spec

CableLabs has completed its Full Duplex DOCSIS 3.1 specification, significantly increasing upstream capacity and enabling symmetric multi-Gigabit services over existing hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) technology. Full Duplex DOCSIS 3.1 technology builds on the DOCSIS 3.1 specification, which made deployments of 10 Gbps downstream and 1 Gbps upstream broadband possible.

Full duplex communication enables upstream and downstream traffic to efficiently use the same spectrum simultaneously. In contrast, spectrum is typically split between the upstream and downstream in current DOCSIS implementations.

“In the United States, more than 90 percent of households are connected to an HFC network, and consumers typically have higher download speeds than upload speeds,” said Phil McKinney, president and chief executive officer of CableLabs. “By enabling Full Duplex DOCSIS, the upstream and downstream traffic can flow at up to 10 Gigabits concurrently, doubling the efficiency of spectrum use.”

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CableLabs: Thinking about the Implications of 5G

In this 2-minute video, Pete Smythe, VP, Core Innovation, CableLabs, discusses some of the implications of 5G, including the impact of ultra-low latency on fixed mobile convergence.

Another area of interest is unlicensed spectrum for LTE and WiFi, where we can anticipate an intersection of mobile networks and fixed-line networks, as well as an overlapping of public and private networks in hospitals, factories, etc.

See video: https://youtu.be/CnSjp-v1kFs

Momentum Builds for Citizens' Band LTE (3.5 GHz)

Thursday, October 20, 2016  3.5 GHz, CBRS, LTE, Standards  No Comments

The Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) Alliance, which was formed in February 2016 with the goal of making LTE-based solutions in the 3.5 GHz CBRS band widely available, announced the addition of Accelleran, Airspan Networks, American Tower Corp., AT&T, Baicells, CableLabs, Ericsson, ExteNet Systems, Nsight, Ranzure Networks, Rise Broadband, and ZTE as members. Founding members of the alliance include Access Technologies (Alphabet), Federated...

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Liberty Global and CableLabs Join the MulteFire Alliance

Wednesday, September 21, 2016  #LTE, LAA, Mobile, MulteFire  No Comments

Liberty Global and CableLabs have joined the MulteFire Alliance, an independent, diverse and international member-driven consortium dedicated to developing next-generation wireless technology. customers.” The main focus of the MulteFire Alliance is to ensure that next-generation LTE mobile standards are compatible with shared and unlicensed spectrum. This compatibility ensures that the next generation 

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Nokia Bell Labs Hits 10 Gbps Symmetrical with XG-Cable

Nokia Bell Labs has demonstrated a prototype XG-CABLE solution that achieves full duplex 10 Gbps rates over a traditional Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) cable systems and based on CableLabs' DOCSIS 3.1 architecture.

Specifically, the XG-CABLE test used two different cable scenarios:

• Leveraging a point-to-point 100m coaxial drop cable, XG-CABLE was able to deliver 10 Gbps symmetric data speeds with 1.2 Ghz of spectrum 
• Using HFC network topologies that utilize a Fiber-to-the-Last-Amplifier (point-to-multipoint coax drop) approach, XG-CABLE was able to deliver 7.5 Gbps of symmetrical data speeds.

Nokia Bell Lab's XG-CABLE utilizes innovative echo canceling technologies developed by Bell Labs to achieve full duplex transmission of 10 Gbps upstream and 10 Gbps downstream simultaneously.

"The XG-CABLE proof of concept is a great example of our ongoing effort and commitment to provide the cable industry with the latest innovations and technology needed to effectively address the growing demand for gigabit services. The proof of concept demonstrates that providing 10 Gbps symmetrical services over HFC networks is a real possibility for operators; it is an important achievement that will define the future capabilities and ultra-broadband services cable providers are able to deliver," stated Federico Guillén, President of Fixed Networks, Nokia.

A whitepaper is posted online.

http://resources.alcatel-lucent.com/asset/195765
http://www.nokia.com

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CableLabs Eyes Symmetric Multi-Gigabit DOCSIS

During its recent 2016 Winter Conference, CableLabs unveiled a Full Duplex DOCSIS technology that aims for multi-gigabit rates.  The breakthrough increase in the upstream speeds for DOCSIS delivered broadband service is achieved by applying emerging techniques from wireless networks to the cable infrastructure.

CableLabs said this new approach significantly increases upstream data capacity in order to enable symmetric multi-Gigabit broadband data services for consumers and the enterprise. These developments are expected to yield DOCSIS 3.1 network performance of up to 10 Gbps symmetrical on 1 GHz HFC networks, with the potential for even higher performance by utilizing spectrum that is currently available for future expansion above 1 GHz.

http://www.cablelabs.com/full-duplex-docsis-3-1-technology-raising-the-ante-with-symmetric-gigabit-service/

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CableLabs Awards First DOCSIS 3.1 Modem Certifications

CableLabs awarded the first DOCSIS 3.1 certifications to five cable modem vendors: Askey, Castlenet, Netgear, Technicolor and Ubee Interactive. Certification verifies compliance to the specifications, interoperability among products and enables competition and choice in the marketplace.

DOCSIS 3.1 technology is designed to meet the demand for higher speeds cost effectively by improving network efficiency and scalability while operating on existing cable operator networks, maintaining backward compatibility with existing DOCSIS deployments. DOCSIS 3.1 technology also reduces network latency, and so dramatically improves responsiveness for sophisticated applications such as gaming and rich web experiences. Cable operators can deploy multi-gigabit services over their existing Hybrid Fiber Coax networks based on consumer demand, leveraging their existing network infrastructure and DOCSIS devices to enable a smooth migration to the new capabilities of the DOCSIS 3.1 technology. This also represents the first set of DOCSIS specifications with worldwide applicability, a key element to delivering rapid scale and cost-effective products.

“Today’s news marks a key milestone for CableLabs in technical leadership and time to market,” said Phil McKinney, President and CEO of CableLabs. “The DOCSIS 3.1 specifications assure the cable industry’s leadership in the delivery of broadband services. This represents the most rapid development and implementation cycle for a broadband technology development program ever delivered by CableLabs. Development of the initial DOCSIS 3.1 specifications to product certification has occurred in half the time of previous DOCSIS specifications.”

http://www.cablelabs.com

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CableLabs Schedules Conference for April 2016

CableLabs will host a new Inform[ed]: conference series beginning on April 13, 2016 in New York City.

• Phil McKinney, President and CEO, CableLabs
• Prof. Theodore S. Rappaport, NYU (founding director of NYU WIRELESS)
• Neville Meijers, VP of Small Cell, Qualcomm
• Jeremy Bye, VP of Carrier and Wholesale, Cox Business
• Paul de Sa, Bernstein Research
• Rob Howald, VP of Network Architecture, Comcast

"As wireless technology continues to advance, it’s imperative that the wireless industry fully explores both the opportunities and challenges of developing innovative wireless technologies that benefit consumers and drive technology forward,” said Phil McKinney, president and chief executive officer of CableLabs. "CableLabs is continually expanding its testing and research in a variety of areas in the wireless space. This conference gives us the opportunity to bring together the industry’s top minds to tackle the most prominent issues in wireless in new and inventive ways.”

http://www.cablelabs.com
http://www.cablenet.org

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CableLabs Details New Remote PHY Specs for DOCSIS

CableLabs posted information on several different Distributed CCAP Architectures (including Remote PHY and Remote MAC-PHY).

Last month, CableLabs publicly issued the Remote PHY family of specifications. Theses specifications are also known as MHAv2 as these are an evolution from the original Modular Headend Architecture specifications.

In a blog posting, Karthik Sundaresan, Principal Architect, CableLabs, describes how the Remote PHY technology allows for an integrated CCAP to be separated into two components: the CCAP Core and the Remote PHY Device (RPD) with interfaces between them. One of the common locations for an RPD is the optical node device that is located at the junction of the fiber and coax plants, while the CCAP Core stays at the headend. A CCAP core can control and setup data paths with multiple RPDs situated in multiple fiber nodes.

CableLabs said it will release the set of technical reports and specifications throughout this summer.

http://www.cablelabs.com/cablelabs-new-remote-phy-specifications-expand-docsis-network-deployment-options/

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CableLabs Joins NYU's 5G Research Program

CableLabs, the nonprofit research consortium for the cable industry, has joined NYU's research center as it drives development of 5G technology.

NYU WIRELESS, which was launched by the New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering in August 2012, is developing fundamental science and mathematical channel models needed to create 5G equipment.

CableLabs becomes the 12th industry affiliate sponsor of the research center, joining Intel, Samsung, Qualcomm, and others, as the industry starts to look beyond 4G and LTE-A, in pursuit of faster connections and greater access.

http://nyuwireless.com/

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CableLabs Releases DOCSIS 3.1 Specs

CableLabs announced the availability of its DOCSIS 3.1 PHY (physical layer) and MULPI (MAC and Upper Layer Protocol) specifications.

Some highlights:

• Speed: Defines support for up to 10 Gbps downstream and up to 1 Gbps upstream network capabilities.
• Quality of Experience: Utilizes Active Queue Management to significantly reduce network delay as data traffic grows in the home network, dramatically improving responsiveness for applications such as online gaming.
• Higher Capacity: Enables a significant increase in network capacity with the ability to transmit up to 50 percent more data over the same spectrum, on existing HFC networks.
• Energy Efficiency: Enhancements to the DOCSIS protocols will increase cable modem energy efficiency.
• Flexible Migration Strategy: DOCSIS 3.1 modems are designed to co-exist with older versions enabling incremental deployment based on market demand.

“To meet the demand for higher speed access and increased network efficiency, CableLabs completed the development of DOCSIS 3.1 specifications 40 percent faster than previous DOCSIS projects,” said Phil McKinney, president and chief executive officer of CableLabs. “These specifications represent the combined work of a large consortium of cable industry stakeholders.”

http://www.cablelabs.com

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Broadcom's EPON ONU and OLT Chipsets Support DOCSIS Provisioning

Broadcom confirmed that its end-to-end EPON ONU and OLT chipsets and DML software are ready to be deployed in DOCSIS provisioning of EPON (DPoE) 1.0 environments.

Broadcom said the 1G EPON and 10G EPON access technologies offer the bandwidth, scale, and features required to deliver demanding business and mobile backhaul services. CableLabs DPoE 1.0 specification fully supports the DOCSIS provisioning processes.

The company has been collaborating with CableLabs, multi-system operators (MSOs) and industry OEMs on defining the requirements for the DPoE 1.0 specifications.

“The DPoE specifications represent a significant achievement on the part of CableLabs, cable MSOs and industry OEMs to create an open standard that achieves full vendor and equipment interoperability. This will further the growth of the cable industry by meeting the bandwidth needs of business users,” said Greg Fischer, Broadcom Vice President and General Manager for Broadband Carrier Access. “As an early supporter of the technology, Broadcom has devoted significant resources to both the standardization process and our product portfolio to make DPoE technology available today.”

CableLabs recently qualified DPoE 1.0 Systems and ONU products through its certification process.

http://www.broadcom.com/press/release.php?id=s775764

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