CableLabs’ most recent list of certified devices – dated Feb. 9 on its Web site – shows that more than 60 DOCSIS 3.0 devices have been certified through Cert Wave 80. By far, the most common device on the list is the cable modem, with 38 certified modems from 12 manufacturers as follows:

  • Cisco (formerly Scientific Atlanta) – 5
  • SMC – 5
  • Ubee (formerly Ambit) – 5
  • Motorola – 5
  • ARRIS – 4
  • Technicolor – 4
  • Netgear – 3
  • Hitron – 2
  • CastleNet – 2
  • Huawei – 1
  • Zoom – 1
  • D-Link – 1

"Cable modems are the first technology to take off because they’re easier to certify with the customers," says Derek Elder, senior vice president/Product Management at ARRIS. "Usually, the embedded multimedia terminal adapters (EMTAs) follow behind – not because the technology comes out later, but because it takes longer to get through the certification process."

To date, 22 DOCSIS 3.0 EMTAs have been certified for 8 vendors:

  • Cisco – 4
  • Motorola – 4
  • Ubee – 4
  • Netgear – 4
  • Technicolor – 2
  • SMC – 2
  • ARRIS – 1
  • Zyxel – 1

However, "the big market transition is to wireless gateways for DOCSIS 3.0 and for voice," says Elder. Technologies commonly included in gateways include routers, firewalls, parental controls, DLNA, file sharing and multiple Ethernet ports.

"On the gateway side, there aren’t a lot of CableLabs’ specs," he adds. "It’s left to OEMs for dealing with the gateway subsystem. I think you’re going to see a lot of focus in differentiating these gateway technologies."

Dr. Yuan Hao Lin, CEO at Ubee Interactive, agrees, saying a "mega trend" is having Wi-Fi capabilities integrated into DOCSIS 3.0 devices. "We’ve been supporting gateways for four or five years already; with DOCSIS 3.0, it makes more sense," says Lin. "We have a lot of deployment in Europe and, in the United States, we have (gateway deployments with) Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Charter."

He cited Ubee model number DDW 3611 as a wireless gateway deployed by Tier 1 U.S. operators. "My goal is to make the gateway more intelligent," Lin says. "I see this as the home hearth or office hearth. Operators can aggregate all this information to the cloud."

According to Lin, Ubee uses Broadcom silicon for its DOCSIS 3.0 devices in the United States, and from both Broadcom and Intel worldwide. "Depending on customers’ requirements, we are flexible to choose either supplier," he says.

Just last month, Ubee announced it had surpassed the 2-million mark on DOCSIS 3.0 units shipped worldwide, representing a 100-percent growth rate in half a year. Following that, SMC Networks chimed in, saying it had shipped more than 1 million DOCSIS 3.0 gateways in North America.

-Linda Hardesty

The Daily

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Delaware Doles Out BEAD Grants to Comcast, Verizon

Delaware became the second state behind Louisiana to announce grant funding awards from its BEAD allocation, awarding Comcast and Verizon $17.4 million to provide service to eight grant areas across the state

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