Comcast said it has conducted the first ever lab test of a device it said will allow it to deliver multi-gigabit upload and download speeds over a hybrid-fiber coaxial (HFC) cable.
It said the test demonstrated the ability to deliver upload and download speeds of more than 4 Gbps, with even higher speeds possible with future optimization.
NCTA-the Internet & Television Association has cautioned against putting all the government's eggs in the fiber-to-the-home basket, as the recently announced Biden infrastructure plan appears to do, long suggesting, as it did at the rollout of its 10G initiative, that HFC can deliver multi-gigabit speeds.
Now Comcast said it has the test results to back that up.
The "full Duplex DOCSIS system-on-chip (SOC) device" was built by broadcom and Comcast said it is expected to be the first production chip using the the Docsis 4.0 full duplex standard, which will allow broadband operators to maximize download spectrum while increasing upload speeds.
It also means saving on infrastructure upgrade spending, although the Biden Administration is not skimping on the broadband billions, because it reduces the need for "massive digging and construction projects," Comcast said.
The Broadcom SOC test exceeded expectations, said Elad Nafshi, SVP of Next Generation Access Networks at Comcast, adding that expanding testing will be conducted later this year.
It is Comcast's latest step toward the cable broadband industry's 10G initiative, which was launched in January 2019 to take some of the steam out of the wireless 5G juggernaut.
