Shedding more light on the equipment makeup of Comcast’s initial foray into DOCSIS 3.1, Technicolor said its gigabit modem is involved in the MSO’s recently launched advanced consumer trial of the technology in Atlanta.
Technicolor’s TC4000 modem was among the first batch of products to obtain DOCSIS 3.1 certification from CableLabs in January. Others to achieve D3.1 certification include Askey, CastleNet, Netgear, Ubee Interactive and, most recently, Sagemcom. The initial wave of modems to achieve D3.1 certification are based on Broadcom silicon, though models with Intel chipsets are expected to join the certified ranks soon.
Technicolor said it will provide a DOCSIS 3.1-powered, gigabit modem that Comcast will use in “some of its early deployments.” Comcast has not announced any other CPE partners for its D3.1 initiative.
“The launch of new gigabit home Internet options further establishes Comcast as a technology leader. Technicolor worked closely with Comcast to provide consumers with the kind of connected home network device necessary to support the next generation of ultra-fast Internet speeds,” Luis Martinez-Amago, president Connected Home North America at Technicolor, said in a statement.
Word of Technicolor’s involvement comes about a month after Comcast launched the trial in Atlanta, where it’s offering a D3.1-powered service that pairs a 1 Gbps downstream with an upstream that maxes out at 35 Mbps. Comcast’s trial there is offering the service under two options -- a promotional contract price of $70 per month for 36 months and unlimited data, and a no-contract price that runs $139.95 per month.
Comcast has also announced that it will rollout residential and business-class gigabit broadband using DOCSIS 3.1 in Nashville in the front half of 2016,” and follow with launches in Chicago, Detroit and Miami in the second half of the year.
In February, Arris noted on its blog that the supplier's flagship cable access platform, the E6000 Converged Edge Router, is supporting Comcast D3.1 rollout in four of the five markets already identified by the cable operator.
