Targeting in-home wired and wireless throughputs approaching 1 Gbps, Netgear has launched a new DOCSIS 3.0-based voice/data services gateway that packs in dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi and a D3 chipset that’s capable of bonding up to 24 downstream channels and eight upstream channels.
Netgear said its new gateway, called the C7000B, features WiFi beamforming, a technique that beefs up wireless performance, range and coverage. Netgear said its variation, something it labels as "Beamforming+," enables the technology to be supported on new and legacy client devices.
Cable gateways are starting to gravitate toward faster 802.11ac technology as consumers attach more PCs, tablets and smartphones to their home networks and apply more stress on the home's WiFi connections. The use of 802.11ac will also aim to eliminate bottlenecks as the throughputs supported by the technology now match up with the wireline speeds that are entering the home.
On the wireline end, Netgear’s gateway is aiming to support burst throughputs of 1 Gbps downstream using the 24/8 channel-bonding configuration.
The new D3/PacketCable 2.0 gateway is also outfitted with SNMP, TR-069 and the vendor’s own “genie” software, which supply customer support tools and remote device management capabilities, the ability to support HD voice, and four Gigabit Ethernet ports.
Netgear, which counts Arris, Cisco Systems, and Ubee Interactive among its competitors, said the C7000B is available for service provider trials. Cable operators that already buy DOCSIS modems from Netgear include Comcast, Liberty Global/Virgin Media, Numericable (France), J:COM (Japan), ONO (Spain) and ComHem (Sweden).
It was not immediately known when Netgear plans to submit the new model for D3 certification at CableLabs, or which chipset it is using in the C7000B.
In December of 2012, Netgear became the first vendor to obtain certification for a DOCSIS 3.0 modem with a 24-channel downstream. That model, the CG4500, was based on the Intel Puma6 D3 chip and the MaxLinear MxL267 24-channel DOCSIS 3.0 receiver.
Last June, Broadcom unveiled a D3 chip that can bond up to 32 downsream channels, enough to support downstream bursts of up to 1.6 Gbps in EuroDOCSIS networks with 8MHz-wide channel spacing, and about 1.2 Gbps in North American DOCSIS networks that use 6MHz-wide channels.
