Arris announced the availability of modems that support Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification 3.0, but the equipment has yet to be certified by CableLabs.
The Touchstone TM702 embedded multimedia terminal adapter provides voice features and data service with speeds up to 160 Megabits per second, using the channel-bonding features of the DOCSIS 3.0 spec, also known as wideband.
Arris also offers a family of DOCSIS 3.0 data-only cable modems, the WBM750, the successor to the pre-DOCSIS 3.0 WBM650 family.
Last month, Arris's DOCSIS 3.0 cable-modem termination system was awarded "bronze" qualification status by CableLabs, meaning it supports downstream-channel bonding, in the first wave of wideband gear submitted for testing.
The 3.0 modem submitted by Arris, however, did not pass the certification testing. CableLabs' next certification wave runs from Jan. 24 to mid-April.
Arris is providing sample units of the DOCSIS 3.0 modems to "lead customers" for trials and testing, while it proceeds through the next round of CableLabs certification, spokesman Alex Swan said.
Comcast is among U.S. cable operators planning to roll out wideband soon. CEO Brian Roberts, in his keynote Tuesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, said that the operator will deploy DOCSIS 3.0 equipment later this year.
“The great news is that we’ll have DOCSIS 3.0 rolled out in front of millions of homes in Comcast service areas by the end of this year,” he said. “This will let us deliver speeds of up to 100 megabits per second over the next two years.”
