June 23, 2005
Technology in Focus features analysis of recent technology news articles, by the consultants in Technology Group, IDA. This is the top pick of the month from a list of 10-20 news analysis compiled monthly.
Packet Bonding Picked for DOCSIS 3.0 from CableLabs Chooses Packet Approach Over Rival MPEG Bonding Proposal, 1 May 2005
by Ong Kian Lin, NWT Consultant
Cable operators are increasingly keen on the technology as a means to compete with the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) networks that the regional phone companies (Verizon, SBC, Qwest, Bellsouth) are now building. Cable operators also see channel-bonding as a way to deliver such high-bandwidth services to businesses as video conferencing. Channel bonding essentially spreads data over multiple channels rather than the single channels used today. Armed with a future DOCSIS 3.0 modem, customers could receive 100 Mbps or higher services via coax, and keep cable in competition with its telco, fiber-based foes.
Source: Broadcom Corp.
The Motorola Inc., ARRIS and Broadcom Corp's proposal, unlike Cisco's, places the control elements for channel bonding in devices located at the edge (Cable Modems), not at the CMTS. It bonds channels in groups of four, which can then be combined into multiple quartets along the spectrum. The main reason for doing so, is to maintain tight timing, so that the delay variance between the different QAM channels is small. Timing control is also a reason the DOCSIS's adopted strategy put the channel bonding controls at the edge-the closer the channel bonding brains are to the user, the better able it is to keep the data flow consistent in the short distance between it and the user.
The Equipment Factor
Channel bonding does come at a cost-specifically that new cable modems and CMTS gear need to replace the existing equipment. The CMTS has to be upgraded and new modem silicon is needed to power a tuner that could accept multiple data channels. You would need what is the equivalent of multiple MAC functions in the modem because you have to synch to multiple streams now. However, it is still good news for the industry now that the Broadcom's proposal was selected. Broadcom is the cable industry's top supplier of DOCSIS cable modem and CMTS silicon. It has however stated previously that it could deliver chips with packet bonding support a half-year sooner than it could deliver chips with MPEG (Cisco's proposal) bonding support. With the targeted DOCSIS 3.0 specs to be ratified late this year, it could well be early next year that we can expect to see commercial DOCSIS 3.0 CMTS & cable modems.
Asia & Europe
Even though DOCSIS is a US-led consortium, many of the equipment manufacturers are upbeat and extremely eager for the standardization of DOCSIS 3.0 for their Asia and Europe markets. European and Asian MSOs are even hotter on the new wideband technology than their U.S. and Canadian counterparts because telcos and other rivals have been more aggressive about rolling out DSL and fiber-rich networks. As a result, such leading wideband proponents as ARRIS, Cisco and Motorola first plan to introduce products with the technology outside North America. In Europe and Asia, MSOs are begging for more bandwidth, in order to do battle with the DSL guys. Everyone is competing with one another to get 100 Mbps to subscribers. No wonder there are those that have been tempted to remark that speed is now the "killer app" for the industry!
CableLabs
CableLabs will now incorporate the winning technique in the new DOCSIS 3.0 spec that it's crafting. In addition to wideband, DOCSIS 3.0 is expected to cover such major enhancements as the new M-CMTS specs and IPv6 support. The M-CMTS approach is designed to enable the separation of DOCSIS MAC and IP switching/routing functions from downstream QAM modulation and RF upconversion, as well as upstream QPSK/QAM demodulation. As a result, cable operators will be able to share high-density edge QAM solutions for video-on-demand (VOD) and DOCSIS data services, driving down their infrastructure costs.
What this means to Singapore
Cablelabs has always been a very successful industry body to define the standards and upgrade paths for DOCSIS. Now that the DOCSIS 3.0 method has been selected, cable operators worldwide can expect a solution to offer at least 100 Mbps, purportedly both directions (upstream and downstream), to customers, by 2007 or earlier (Cablelabs has announced their plan for DOCSIS 3.0 to support minimum 160 Mbps downstream & 120 upstream per channel in May 2005). In Singapore, StarHub Cable Vision (SCV) is already offering up to 25 Mbps with its MaxOnline Ultimate package, using DOCSIS 1.1's dynamic QoS mechanism. DOCSIS 3.0 will enable it to up the ante even higher, offering 100 Mbps to compete with VDSL2, Metro-Ethernet and even FTTH (PON) alike. Now that Singapore (MediaCorp) is making the transition to High Definition TV (HDTV), this will hopefully create the demand in Singapore for having a higher-bandwidth pipe of 100 Mbps, for platforms that will be transporting HDTV content via IP. Of course, with StarHub being the primary source for all our Pay-TV programs & exciting content, like ESPN, HBO, Cinemax, Discovery etc (analogue & digital), it is definitely a force to be reckon with, in this game of chasing the "highest speed (killer app)".
Some words about the writer
Ong Kian Lin is a Consultant with the Technology Group, tasked with the responsibility of identifying and driving the adoption of emerging telecommunication technologies in Singapore. He specializes in a wide range of wireline technologies, including Passive Optical network, ADSL and Cable Network.
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