Touting a strategy to bring more MSOs into the fold from around the globe, CableLabs announced that Chongqing Cable Networks of China has become the organization's 55th cable operator member.
CCN serves more than 5 million digital subs, including those taking HDTV, interactive video and broadband services, according to this blog post by CableLabs COO Chris Lammers,
“CCN’s CableLabs membership is the latest step in CableLabs ongoing effort to provide value to the cable industry on a global basis,” Lammers wrote, noting that China represents a market with nearly 250 million video subs and 15 million broadband subs. “Over the past two years, we have added new members across Europe, Latin America, and Asia, increasing total membership today to 55 members representing over 150 million video subscribers.”
That expansion, he said, provides CableLabs with scale to collaborate on tech standards and strategies on a global scale.
That focus took hold in August 2013, when CableLabs Europe merged its activities with CableLabs and began to integrate C-DOCSIS, a flavor of DOCSIS that has been tailored for the Chinese cable market. CableLabs completed the C-DOCSIS specs in the fall of 2014.
Incorporating C-DOCSIS into the DOCSIS 3.1 platform establishes DOCSIS as a “unified standard for all markets,” Lammers said.
He said CableLabs is moving ahead with plans to add more Chinese cable operators, as well as those located in Korea, India, Thailand, Australia and Latin America.
CableLabs, Lammers added, also plans to beef up support in Asia by adding resources for the region, including collaboration with regional cable laboratories such as JLabs (Japan) and Klabs (Korea).
