Japan CableLabs, CableLabs Establish Joint Working Relationship

On Wednesday Japan CableLabs and CableLabs announced that they had signed an agreement to further align the development of cable technology in Japan and the US. The agreement provides Japan CableLabs access to CableLabs’ specifications including DOCSIS, OpenCable and PacketCable, and test plans. The agreement was designed to assure greater consistency across cable technologies developed for Japan and the North American markets. The partnership assures Japan CableLabs also will have access to draft specifications for these projects, including proposed engineering changes to these specifications, to allow for Japanese adaptations to be included in the specifications while they are being developed. In addition, Japan CableLabs will be able to participate in CableLabs’ vendor meetings or other project meetings. The relationship between Japan CableLabs and CableLabs will be governed by appropriate access agreements and NDAs to assure confidentiality of the information exchanged between the two organizations. "Through this new relationship, Japan CableLabs and CableLabs will identify opportunities to more closely align their technical initiatives in areas of common focus, including specification development, product testing and standards activities, resulting in a more robust set of products and services available to consumers in Japan and North America”, said Dr. Richard R. Green, President and Chief Executive Officer of CableLabs, in a prepared statement.