Looking to give MSOs more flexibility on how they buy and deploy access network capacity, Cisco Systems this week launched Infinite Broadband Unlocked (IBU), a licensing program for the cBR-8, a flagship converged cable access platform (CCAP) that supports cable services and the new DOCSIS 3.1 platform.
Cisco said the program aims to improve the economics of delivering multi-gigabit services using emerging distributed access architectures that employ Remote PHY and push key electronics toward the edge of the network.
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Rather than using traditional licensing models for CCAP devices that require MSOs to buy large numbers of new bandwidth licenses for every service group where they want to offer the expanded service, the IBU model has only one license type based on bandwidth consumption, Cisco said.
That gives cable operators the ability to provision all of the capacity of their CCAP platforms without restrictions or upfront licensing expense, the company claimed, noting that the IBU licensing plan is available for current and new Cisco cBR-8 customers worldwide.
Further, Cisco believes that the approach will promote the provision of multi-gigabit service tiers across MSO footprints without the risk of stranding capital while also simplifying service group splits by eliminating the need to purchase additional license types.
“IBU helps cable operators be more competitive and gain subscriber market share,” Sean Welch, vice president and general manager, Cable Access, Service Provider Business, Cisco, said in a statement. “We have listened carefully to our customers, and with this new offer we have specifically focused on making DOCSIS licensing simple and aligned with their business objectives.”
