BigBand to Demo IPTV Over Cable Modems

BigBand Networks said it will demonstrate its modular cable-modem-termination system delivering HD video-on-demand and Internet-protocol TV over existing cable modems at Europe's ANGA Cable conference next week.

The company is intending to show that it can deliver IP-based video using existing Cable Television Laboratories M-CMTS and Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification standards.

In a prepared statement, BigBand vice president and manager of cable IP John Holobinko said, "There is simply no need for operators to embark on a proprietary approach to IP video.”

That’s an evident dig at Motorola, which has proposed what it calls the DOCSIS IPTV Bypass Architecture (DIBA). In this approach, video would be sent directly through an edge quadrature-amplitude-modulation device, rather than being processed through the CMTS. Motorola argued that DIBA, or something like it, is more efficient for delivering large quantities of IP video rather than burdening a CMTS with that traffic.

BigBand, meanwhile, said one cable operator -- which it would not identify -- is already using its Cuda CMTS to deliver IP-based VOD to subscribers.

At the ANGA show, BigBand said it will present two demos: One showing HD VOD accessed over DOCSIS 2.0 modems, and one using DOCSIS 3.0 downstream-channel bonding capabilities to deliver standard-definition and HD video to an IPTV set-top box.