Offering a hint that it’s closing in on market trials and deployments of DOCSIS 3.1, Cox Communications has added Netgear’s first D3.1-certified modem to its list of approved devices.
At present, Netgear’s CM1000 is the only DOCSIS 3.1 device approved by Cox. Comcast has also added the CM1000 to its list of certified devices.
Cox has not announced specific plans to trial or deploy DOCSIS 3.1, but an official said more detail will be shared about that in the coming weeks. The CM1000 will work on DOCSIS 3.0 networks because initial wave of D3.1 modems are hybrids in the sense that they support both DOCSIS 3.1- and DOCSIS 3.0-based signals.
Cox has stressed that D3.1 will factor into its plan begin market- wide deployment of Gigabit services by the end of 2016. With its “Gigablast” service, Cox is starting with an FTTP approach.
In an interview earlier this year, Cox CTO Kevin Hart noted that the MSO’s 10-year network transition plan includes “hallmarks” such as DOCSIS 3.1, node+0 (fiber deep) architectures and, eventually, Full Duplex DOCSIS, an emerging technology that will enable MSOs to deliver multi-gigabit symmetrical speeds over HFC.
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“Starting right now and into next year, DOCSIS 3.1 is high on our radar, so we’re making great strides with the testing, deployment and trials of 3.1,” Hart said at the time.
Per the current listing on Amazon, Netgear’s CM1000 is scheduled to be released on Dec. 19 and sell for $179.99.
Netgear said recently that it also plans to distribute the CM1000 at Fry’s Electronics and Best Buy. Newegg is promoting the CM1000 for $179.99, with a Dec. 21 release date.
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Arris has said it plans to start to selling the SB8200, another device certified by CableLabs, at retail later this month.
Hitron, Humax, Askey, CastleNet, Sagemcom, Technicolor, and Ubee Interactive have also had devices certified by CableLabs for DOCSIS 3.1.
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