ARRIS Field Upgrade Can Double Downstream Density

ARRIS is in early deployments of its Release 7.4 eXtended Downstream Cable Access Module (XD CAM) field upgrade, effectively doubling the downstream density of the DOCSIS 3.0 C4 CMTS from 16D to 32D without the need for any wiring or hardware changes. This keyed feature field upgrade is available for purchase to the entire installed base of C4 DOCSIS 3.0 CMTSs worldwide.

The C4 XD CAM’s increased downstream density makes the transition to eight-channel bonding simple and gives cable operators the ability to deliver more bandwidth per subscriber at a much lower cost than previously possible. For customers, it provides higher speed service tiers – up to 343 Mbps for North American DOCSIS (Annex B) and 445 Mbps for European DOCSIS (Annex A).

C4 Release 7.4 software enables operators to upgrade all existing, deployed 16D CAMs to XD CAMs with the purchase of a software license, without removing the module from the chassis.

Also available in Release 7.4 is support for IPv6 as well as DOCSIS 3.0 multicast traffic. North American cable MSO Comcast recently completed successful testing of a live application of native dual stack (IPv4 and IPv6) CPE support for its customers in the Denver area using the C4 CMTS. Operators will be able to deploy IPv6 with confidence and, by combining Multicast IP Video with DOCSIS 3.0 channel bonding, will be able to deliver IP video in the most efficient way possible.