Arris Group, aiming to equip cable operators to deliver screaming-fast Internet speeds in 2013 and beyond, is introducing seven next-generation DOCSIS 3.0 wireless in-home gateways capable of delivering video and data downstream at nearly 1 Gigabit per second.
The new Touchstone gateways will be available in the first quarter of 2013 to start customer certifications, Arris said. The vendor will show off the gateways this week at SCTE’s Cable-Tec Expo in Orlando, Fla.
The gateways provide either 16x4 (16 downstream and four upstream) or 24x8 (24 down, eight up) channel bonding. The gateways are based on Intel’s Puma 6 and Puma 6 media gateway silicon and include MaxLinear's Full Spectrum Capture front-end receivers and Celeno Communications' CLR260 Wi-Fi chips with beam-forming technology for greater range and throughput in both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.
Arris previously discussed plans for 16-channel gateways at the Cable Show in May.
"With every device consumers add to their in-home networks, the demand for bandwidth must be met. Consequently, speed leadership is a pillar of our customers' competitive position," said Derek Elder, Arris senior vice president and general manager of the Touchstone CPE division. "We are announcing today a complete portfolio of DOCSIS 3.0 voice and data gateways designed to assure that our customers deploy precisely the right bandwidth and services for each application with the best in-home wireless coverage and performance."
Separately, Arris last week announced the version 8.1 software update for its flagship C4 cable-modem termination system, which adds support for 16- and 24-channel downstream bonding.
The two highest-end models, capable of delivering up to 960 Megabits per second downstream and 240 Mbps up, are the DG2470 data gateway and the TG2472 telephony. Both have dual-band concurrent wireless and integrated MoCA.
Arris is introducing five 16x4 gateways, which can pump 640 Mbps down and 120 up. Four have dual-band concurrent Wi-Fi: the DG1660 data gateway; DG1670 data gateway with integrated MoCA; the TG1662 telephony gateway; and the TG1672 telephony gateway with integrated MoCA (pictured above). The TG1642 telephony gateway with single-band wireless.
Celeno touts its dual-band CLR260 3x3 802.11n chip as “video-grade,” capable of distributing HD video throughout the home wirelessly to multiple devices. Previously, Arris has used single-band (2.4 GHz) Wi-Fi chip sets from Taiwan’s MediaTek.
MSOs that are deploying DOCSIS gateways with Celeno Wi-Fi chips include Liberty Global, which is one of Arris’s customers. Celeno is banking on the Arris deal to make inroads into cable, after landing wins with more than 50 telco worldwide.
“Now with Arris, with their strong position in cable, we believe we’ll be deployed more widely in the North America,” Celeno vice president of marketing Lior Weiss said.
