Microtune, the Plano, Tex.-based company that makes silicon tuner chips for cable set-tops and voice/data modems, has developed a new tuner chip that supports the DOSCIS 3.0 cable data standard.
The MicroTuner MT2170 chip, which offers the equivalent functionality of four DOCSIS 2.0 digital tuners, will allow cable operators to use advanced “channel bonding” techniques to deliver up to 160 megabits per second of data to new DOSCIS 3.0-compliant modems. That will allow them to better compete with high-speed data services offered by telcos like Verizon, says Microtune COO Bud Taddiken. The wideband chip also can address a 100 megahertz (MHz) swath of bandwidth, a key request of cable operators. The chip is sampling now with modem manufacturers and will sell for $5 in volume pricing.
