Orlando, Fla. -- Motorola is kicking up the advertised capacity of its BSR 64000 cable-modem-termination system by a factor of five -- claiming that it can provide up to 5 gigabits per second in a single chassis -- via a new hardware module that supports 32 quadrature-amplitude-modulation channels.
The Decoupled Downstream Module TX32 for the BSR 64000 supports the channel-bonding features of Cable Television Laboratories Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification 3.0, as well as connectivity for DOCSIS 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0 cable modems.
According to Motorola, the downstream channels on the TX32 can be coupled with the downstream and upstream channels on existing 2:8 CMTS modules (which provide two downstream and eight upstream ports) to provide up to 138 downstream channels in a single BSR 64000, for up to 5 gbps of aggregate downstream capacity. The BSR 64000 previously supported a maximum of 24 downstream channels.
The vendor did not release pricing information. However, Motorola claimed, the higher density of the TX32 will decrease the cost per downstream channel by more than 60%.
The TX32 module "offers high density and functionality while simultaneously helping to decrease costs and protect operator investments in pre-DOCSIS 3.0 technology," Motorola Home and Networks Mobility vice president of marketing Kevin Keefe said in a prepared statement.
Motorola said it expects the TX32 module to be available by the end of 2007. The company announced the new module at the Society for Cable Telecommunications Engineers' Cable-Tec Expo 2007 here.
