DOCSIS’s push into the Chinese broadband market took another step forward late last month with the publication of a specification that complete a larger suite of specs tied to C-DOCSIS, a version of an cable-focused IP platform that is taking hold in China and some other markets around the world.
Karthik Sundaresan, a principal architect at CableLabs, noted in this blog post that the C-DOCSIS System Specification (a pdf is available here) was released on August 29.
Those specs were completed just over a year after CableLabs announced that it was integrating C-DOCSIS with its broader DOCSIS initiatives, and later began to publish annexes to the DOCSIS 3.0 specs that tie in modifications for the Chinese cable market.
As originally designed, C-DOCSIS uses regular DOCSIS 2.0- or DOCSIS 3.0-certified modems in tandem with a stripped down version of a cable modem termination system (CMTS) called the Coax Media Converter (CMC), and a CMC controller, which resides at the cable operator’s hub or headend site. The new C-DOCSIS System specs define requirements for three different distributed CMTS architectures.
The just-released system specs and the annexes already factored into DOCSIS 3.0 now comprise C-DOCSIS.
C-DOCSIS, which is being used in apartment buildings and other high-density multiple-dwelling units, has already been picked by China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) as an acceptable cable access standard for a next-generation broadband project aimed that generating more competition between the nation’s cable operators and telcos.
CableLabs’ decision to fold in the C-DOCSIS work has also produced more direct participation from international MSOs. Sundaresan noted that several China-based MSOs have joined CableLabs, including WASU Digital TV Media Group Co., Shenzhen Topway Video Communication Co., Beijing Gehua CATV Co., and Jiangsu Broadcasting Cable Information Network Corp.
“These C-DOCSIS specifications are the first step in engaging our new members in China,” Sundaresan wrote.
