More bonded channels driving near-gig Internet speeds

Broadcom's playing with a new DOCSIS 3.0 chipset that can bond 16 downstream channels to push cable modem speeds close to 1 Gbps, according to a story in Light Reading. The new chipset doubles the downstream speeds of just-being-introduced eight-channel bonded DOCSIS 3.0 modems and embedded multimedia terminal adapters (EMTAs). Broadcom teams its superwide downstream with a four-channel upstream to deliver a powerful two-way punch.

Arris, Cisco and Motorola, among other notable DOCSIS vendors, are just bringing eight-channel products to market so it's unclear when, or if, anyone will be taking up Broadcom's new product line. Broadcom itself has yet to say when it will seek CableLabs certification.

Meanwhile, on the more conventional DOCSIS front, Cisco said that international service provider customers like Hong Kong Cable and Canal Digital Denmark are deploying its new CMTS components to channel bond and develop speeds up 100 Mbps or more upstream and 160 Mbps or more downstream.

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