No. 2 cable industry CPE maker Technicolor said its TC4000 modem is part of the first major trial of DOCSIS 3.1 technology in the U.S., Comcast's (NASDAQ: CMCSA) gigabit-speed rollout in Atlanta.
The TC4000 was one of the five first DOCSIS 3.1 modems certified in January by CableLabs. All five are based on Broadcom chips, with Askey, Castlenet, Netgear and Ubee Interactive being the other manufacturers.
Technicolor, which said it ranked as the No. 2 cable CPE vendor behind Arris even before it acquired Cisco's CPE unit last year, says its TC4000 will also be part of Comcast's upcoming early DOCSIS 3.1 deployments.
Arris announced its first DOCSIS 3.1 modem, the CM8200, last October, but it hasn't announced any CPE that's involved in Comcast's early DOCSIS 3.1 deployments. The vendor has, however, said its E6000 converged edge router is part of those installations.
"The launch of new gigabit home Internet options further establishes Comcast as a technology leader. Technicolor worked closely with Comcast to provide consumers with the kind of connected home network device necessary to support the next generation of ultra-fast Internet speeds," said Luis Martinez-Amago, president of Technicolor's Connected Home North America division.
Comcast said in mid-March that it has begun "advanced consumer trials" of DOCSIS 3.1-powered Internet services for select early adopters in Atlanta, kicking off its plan to bring the 1-gig product to five cities this year.
New and existing Comcast customers in Atlanta can visit www.xfinity.com/gig to get information and put their hat in the ring for joining the trial. Selected users will have a promotional contract price of $70 per month for 36 months. The cost is $140 a month if customers choose not to sign a contract. Comcast said it will announce additional price points for other markets.
"Our Atlanta customers will be among the first in the world to enjoy this new Gigabit technology, and we're looking forward to learning more from these early adopters about how they take advantage of these ultra-fast speeds," said Comcast Central Division President Bill Connors. "The capabilities of DOCSIS 3.1 are incredibly exciting, and we are the first to market with a Gigabit offering that runs over our existing cable infrastructure."
Comcast is the first U.S. MSO to aggressively deploy DOCSIS 3.1 services, as it looks to head off 1-gig competition from companies including Google Fiber (NASDAQ: GOOG) and AT&T (NYSE: T).
In fact, Atlanta has emerged as a crucial early battle ground in the quest for 1-gig supremacy, with Comcast already waging an advertising war against Google Fiber.
Initially available in Atlanta and soon Nashville, Comcast will bring its gigabit service to Chicago, Detroit, and Miami in the second half of the year. The cable MSO plans to target residential and business customers with the service, which runs over its existing hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) plant.
For more:
- read this Technicolor press release
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