CableLabs Certifies Modem From High Speed Surfing, Inc
LOUISVILLE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 5, 2000--Cable Television Laboratories, Inc., (CableLabs(R)) announced today that it has awarded CableLabs(R) Certified(TM) cable modem status to High Speed Surfing, Inc.
The company becomes the 18th manufacturer to have a high-speed, always-connected DOCSIS 1.0 cable modem certified for retail sale.
Modem suppliers whose products previously have been certified include 3Com, Arris Interactive, Askey Computer Corp., Best Data, Cisco Systems, Com21, Dassault, DX Antenna, General Instrument, Motorola, Philips Electronics, Samsung Information Systems of America, Sony Corp., Terayon Communications Systems, Thomson Consumer Electronics, Turbocomm, and Toshiba.
In addition, CableLabs has qualified CMTS (headend equipment) from Arris Interactive, Cisco Systems, and Motorola for compliance with the CableLabs specification.
"We are pleased to see cable modem suppliers working together to ensure widespread availability of certified product. In this case, High Speed Surfing licensed hardware and software from a previously certified cable modem supplier. The High Speed Surfing implementation passed all the CableLabs-specified criteria to be classified as an OEM of a certified modem. Once CableLabs verified that the design of the device was identical to the certified manufacturer's device, certification status was awarded between certification waves," said cable modem project leader, David Bukovinsky, Vice President for Broadband Services at CableLabs.
Based upon the speed with which the industry is moving, CableLabs expects to see a wide variety of products encompassing DOCSIS standards submitted across the five certification testing waves during 2000.
Certified modems are identified by a "CableLabs(R) Certified(TM)" seal. This seal informs consumers and cable operators that a modem complies with CableLabs' cable modem specification. It also assures that it will communicate (interoperate) with qualified cable system headends, which soon will be deployed in a substantial number of systems worldwide.
There are more than 65 different regional deployments by cable operators on their broadband networks using cable modem products from the more than one dozen companies producing CableLabs(R) Certified(TM) cable modems. A Certification Review Committee, comprised of representatives of CableLabs member companies, grants certification status to DOCSIS-compliant modems, and qualified status to headend equipment, based on lab tests completed by CableLabs, as well as on field data.
Cable modems are used to provide high-speed Internet and data access over cable's broadband networks. Cable modems are always connected and, unlike telephone industry modems, do not require re-dialing to a service provider. In addition, because the connection is via two-way cable, consumers do not tie up their telephone line for Internet surfing when using a cable modem. Certified cable modems can coexist in cable systems with existing, proprietary cable modems.
Manufacturers who receive CableLabs certification for their high-speed cable modems have successfully completed an extensive series of interoperability tests supported by CableLabs membership. Modems are tested against CableLabs-qualified headend equipment supplied by different manufacturers.
As part of the certification test process, suppliers are asked to work in CableLabs facilities in pre-market, pre-competitive testing and evaluation in order to prove their compliance with the industry-supported program and technology. As part of the certification process, suppliers complete self-testing of their products at their own facilities prior to submission to CableLabs.
CableLabs certification focuses on how well suppliers' cable modem and headend equipment adhere to CableLabs-defined interface specifications. The existing DOCSIS cable modem architecture is enriched with high-speed data capability of up to 38 million bits per second throughput per standard cable channel, with the flexibility of enabling each broadband service provider to customize multiple service tiers. In addition to the unprecedented speed, cable modems also offer ease of installation, robust reliability, and data encryption of all information they convey.
The effort has achieved widespread cable and vendor consensus on a series of definitions of key interconnection points in a cable data distribution network. It also has achieved North American (by the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers) and international (by the International Telecommunications Union) standardization using key elements of DOCSIS.
CableLabs is a research and development consortium of cable television system operators representing the continents of North America and South America. CableLabs plans and funds research and development projects that will help cable companies take advantage of future opportunities and meet future challenges in provision of television, data, and Internet services to consumers.
It also transfers relevant technologies to member companies and to the industry. In addition, CableLabs acts as a clearinghouse to provide information on current and prospective technological developments that are of interest to the cable industry. CableLabs maintains web sites at www.cablelabs.com; www.cablemodem.com; www.cablenet.org; www.opencable.com; and www.packetcable.com.
CONTACT:
CableLabs
Mike Schwartz, 303/661-9100
m.schwartz@cablelabs.com |
