Cisco Systems has developed a modular cable modem termination system, designed to support up to 5,000 high-speed data subscribers, that the company said can be upgraded down the road for CableLabs’ next-generation modem specification.
The Universal Broadband Router 7225VXR CMTS platform will initially support one or two line cards with 8 upstream and 2 downstream channels each, giving the two-rack-unit-high unit a total capacity of 16 upstream and 4 downstream channels.
Cisco senior director of CMTS products John Mattson said a key feature of the uBR7225VXR is that it provides an upgrade path to Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification 3.0, which can virtually bond together multiple channels to provide higher throughput.
At some point Cisco will provide a higher-density line card for the CMTS designed for DOCSIS 3.0, with support for 12 upstream and 12 downstream channels, Mattson said, although he declined to provide a ship date.
“We think the most compelling feature is that you don’t have to replace the box to upgrade to DOCSIS 3.0,” Mattson said.
The uBR7225VXR is set to ship by the end of the year; Cisco did not make pricing information available. The new CMTS platform is designed to supersede Cisco’s previous low-end CMTS, the uBR7100, which Mattson said was “getting pretty dated.”
Two Danish cable providers -- Dansk Kabel TV A/S and A+ -- are currently testing the uBR7225VXR, according to Cisco.
The company claims it has shipped more than 1 million DOCSIS ports to date across the uBR CMTS family.
