Latest from Next TV in Modems

Shortages of MLCCs, Other Electronic Parts Getting Worse, Market Researchers Say

daniel.frankel@futurenet.com (Daniel Frankel) — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 15:09:43 +0000

Ongoing global shortages of electronic components, including multi-layer ceramic chip capacitors, are getting worse, and relief is not expected until at least the end of 2018.

That is the conclusion of reports issued recently by Morgan Stanley and Stifel, which are tracking a supply problem that has impacted the ability of vendors including Arris to deliver electronic components including gateways and modems.

“Lead times remain elevated across a number of components, including capacitors, resistors, memory and certain discretes, according to our analysis of distribution data,” Stifel reported in a recent update. “We continue to see signs of double ordering as customers scramble for parts. The multi-layer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) shortage is the most severe, with many parts seeing order-rescheduling requests from customers waiting on MLCCs or other parts.”

Parts suppliers are currently in the process of adding additional production capacity. But these moves won’t impact the market until at least the end of the year, the reports say.

Supply in particular for MLCCs—staple components of devices including modems and smart phones—is being impacted by surging demand in the automotive, IoT and industrial markets, the investment banks say.

In June, Arris issued a note to operator clients warning them to expect delays and price increases on certain products. This resulted in some clients shifting orders for items including DOCSIS 3.1 modems to other suppliers.

“Most companies like us are in an environment where trying to secure supply is on a week-to-week basis and prices fluctuate pretty significantly,” Arris CEO Bruce McClelland told investment analysts during his company’s second quarter earnings call.

“We're not in a position we can absorb those costs. And so, we've been pretty upfront and open with customers on what the price increases are,” McClelland added.

As surging demand makes the procurement process for electronics more challenging, there is also the issue of tariffs that is impacting the market.

“Of particular concern to Nokia are the recent tariffs imposed on trade with China, which specifically target a wide range of components that are critical to 5G,” Nokia wrote in an FCC filing last week. “Unless exemptions are provided for these products, these latest duties threaten to raise the cost of 5G infrastructure in the U.S. by hundreds of millions of dollars. This is an important context that further emphasizes the need for the Commission to lower barriers to deployment where it can.”

Arris Debuts First EasyMesh-Certified Wi-Fi Extender

daniel.frankel@futurenet.com (Daniel Frankel) — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 14:40:15 +0000

Arris has announced the first device to receive the Wi-Fi Alliance’s EasyMesh certification.

The VAP4641 Wi-Fi extender supports the open standard that enables interoperability with any other Wi-Fi device certified under the open standard. Under current not-so-interoperable life without wide availability of EasyMesh modems and extenders, users are compelled to purchase compatible extenders from the same manufacturer that provided their modem.

The wall-plug mounted VAP4641, part of Arris’ HomeAssure family of Wi-Fi products, features 4x4 antennas and 802.11ac Wi-Fi capability.

“In the case of Arris HomeAssure, the Wi-Fi Controller sits on top of the EasyMesh protocol," said Arris CPE division chief Charlie Cheevers, speaking to Wi-Fi NOW. "The EasyMesh MAP creates the network topology and sees everything, but it is the Wi-Fi controller algorithm above that adds all of the critical intelligence, including client steering, band steering, changing channels, and more.”

“Companies like Google and in particular Apple believe their smartphone should do all it can do make the connection experience as good as possible for the consumer. Now with EasyMesh in the home, the EasyMesh controller will know know more about the overall Wi-Fi topology than the Apple phone. That also means that ideally, Apple phones should obey messages sent from EasyMesh networks,” Cheevers added.

"Our home Wi-Fi vision is to provide ubiquitous coverage from a single network," said Larry Robinson, president, customer premises equipment at Arris, in a statement. "We're proud to continue our contributions to the Wi-Fi Alliance's multi-AP specifications and Wi-Fi EasyMesh program to help service providers bring new innovations like the VAP4641 Wireless Extender to consumers. We're making it easier for consumers to install, configure and manage their home network, while delivering Gigabit speeds."

Audit: MVPDs Meeting Energy-Conservation Goals Set in 2012

garyarlen@gmail.com (Gary Arlen) — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 21:39:00 +0000

Consumers saved about $646 million in energy costs related to set-top boxes over three years, and some 90% of modems, routers and associated broadband devices meet the "rigorous new efficiency standards" set forth in a 2012 voluntary agreement among all the major U.S. multichannel video service providers to reduce energy consumption, according to an audit review released Tuesday (Aug. 9).

In a joint announcement of the audit results, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association and the Consumer Technology Association said the independent audit by D+R International found that STB efficiency prevented more than 3.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2015. Overall, set-top improvements resulted in nearly $1.2 billion in energy cost savings.

"The pay TV industry and its suppliers are beginning to make a real dent in the high energy use of cable, satellite and telephone set-top boxes," according to a statement that NCTA/CTA issued from Noah Horowitz, director of the Center for Energy Efficiency Standards at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "New DVRs, the main set-top box in most homes, now use 36 percent less energy annually than in 2012."

The audit of the results of the three-year old "Voluntary Agreement for Ongoing Improvement to the Energy Efficiency of Small Network Equipment" also found that 99.5% of new set-top boxes meet "Energy Star Efficiency Standards" and that participating operators have purchased more than 27 million "thin clients" that can deliver energy-saving DVR service.

Additionally, the audit found that newer modem models used 18% less energy than previously deployed models.

The voluntary agreement,which was updated last month, was recently named "Project of the Year" by Environmental Leader, an energy trade publication.

An STB Voluntary Agreement was signed in 2012; a year later energy-efficiency advocates joined with the pay TV industry in an expanded version of the Voluntary Agreement. Signatories now include all of the major multichannel video service providers representing more than 92 percent of the U.S. multichannel video market: AT&T/DIRECTV, Comcast, Charter/Time Warner Cable/Bright House Networks, DISH, Verizon, Cox, Cablevision, and CenturyLink; major manufacturers: ARRIS/Pace, Technicolor, EchoStar Technologies; and energy-efficiency advocates Natural Resources Defense Council, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the Appliance Standards Awareness Project.

A modem agreement, modeled on the STB plan, features a commitment that, starting this year, 90 percent of the small network equipment purchased by service providers and sold at retail by vendors meets new energy efficiency standards. Signatories to this agreement include service providers AT&T/DIRECTV, Cablevision, CenturyLink, Charter/Time Warner Cable/ Bright House Networks, Comcast, Cox Communications, and Verizon; and manufacturers Actiontec, ARRIS, Cisco, D-Link, EchoStar Technologies, NETGEAR, Pace and Ubee Interactive.

The D+R auditors found that the signatories were successful in early implementation of their modem/home network commitments, with seven of the 11 reporting signatories meeting the 90% commitment, and overall 89.6% of reported units purchased and sold in 2015 meeting the new energy efficiency standards.

D+R also found that the average maximum energy level permitted by the new commitments represent approximately an 18 percent reduction in energy usage from other recently deployed models.

The Voluntary Agreement is expected to continue to achieve additional savings as signatories fully implement their commitments this year, according to the NCTA/CTA announcement.