DOCSIS 3.1 Puts Cable Ahead of Upstream Curve

While upstream hasn’t been the hot topic it was a few years ago when P2P sites were gobbling up bandwith, there will come a time in the near future when it’s just as – if not more – important. With DOCSIS 3.1, cable operators will be ahead of the game.

DOCSIS 3.1 includes advanced modulation and agile channel bonding capabilities that increase upstream capacity without expanding the return path bandwidth. Dan Rice, Vice President of Network Technology for CableLabs, points out that DOCSIS 3.1 is backward-compatible with previous iterations of the spec. “Operators ought to understand that they don’t have to do anything to the upstream to use DOCSIS 3.1,” he said. “One of the key underlying principles and objectives was that it should work on existing networks.”

More about the upstream potential of DOCSIS 3.1, and why it’s important, from Carl Weinschenk at Broadband Technology Report.