The 10g platform is going to provide reliable service. As the cable industry embarks on the development of 10G services, there is a lot of work ahead, but we already have a strong foundation of experience and technology to build upon.
The 10 Gbps goal is about performance. But it must come with low cost, high quality, and sufficient reliability. 10G services have to be easy to install reliably, remain stable and robust against cable plant variations and conditions, and provide a wealth of service flexibility so that services remain reliable under a broad set of use cases.
The Road to 10G…
At CableLabs, we’ve taken big leaps toward 10G with DOCSIS® 4.0, including Full Duplex DOCSIS, and with cable modems (CMs) which will be capable of 5 Gbps symmetrical service in the near future. To fully arrive at 10G, we need to enable 10 Gbps downstream speeds. To accomplish that, we’ll need to expand our use of available spectrum, and we’ll likely need to use that spectrum in a highly efficient manner. Pushing higher bandwidth solutions deeper into the network and closer to the edge customers will be required, too. We have a lot of innovation ahead of us to get to the 10G future.
…Is Paved with Innovation
Invention often begins with an initial solution that is later repeated for verification, then validated further. That initial solution then needs to be scaled; in other words, it needs to be made repeatable, at a low cost, and with sufficient reliability.
Fortunately, DOCSIS networking is a technology with many reliability traits integrated. Data are delivered reliably due to Forward Error Correction. Profile management can control the data rate to allow the best performance possible, but not push performance to low reliability. Adjustments to the connection between the cable modem termination system (CMTS) and CM assure reliable transmission continues under constant environmental and network changes. And Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) assures that plant conditions are discoverable, and that they can be translated into maintenance activities that can further assure services stay reliable at low cost. The cable industry is starting on a solid foundation.
Consider one possible direction we could take on the road to 10G. As we begin to expand the frequencies that DOCSIS uses, we may need improved error correction, better profile management, or better CMTS-to-CM coordination to assure reliable services continue at expected levels. However, pushing these limits might also mean new failure modes in the plant, or greater service sensitivity to existing failure modes, thus increasing the importance of PNM. Operators should up their PNM game now, understanding that it will be an even more important element to assure a reliable 10G future.
A Super Highway in Many Directions
Because of this strong reliability foundation in cable technologies, particularly DOCSIS, we can build our 10G future with reliability in mind. Rather than simply extending our boundaries and hoping that our existing methods to assure reliable services will be sufficient, we can define solutions that bring reliability with them. By focusing simultaneously on increased performance, lower operational costs, and reliable services, we can evolve into an effective, desirable 10G future for the world.
Also, by thoughtfully choosing the technologies to develop, we can create degrees of freedom and opportunities to enhance reliability while developing 10G. This is the right approach for the industry to take because reliability can only be built into a service, not added later. By choosing to develop solutions now that expand our options for reliable services, we can enable operators to have full control of their services. To make it work reliably, PNM will be there, and so will a few other advantages to come.
