New Cable Broadband Specs Say 10 Gbps Speeds Possible

CableLabs, the nonprofit research and development consortium for the cable industry, today announced the availability of its DOCSIS 3.1 specifications. Most notable is that, according to CableLabs specs, DOCSIS 3.1 will be able to support home broadband speeds up to ten Gbps downstream and 1 Gbps upstream. Compared to current standard DOCSIS 3.0, this is an impressive leap. In addition to blazing new speed potential, DOCSIS 3.1 will be able to:

  • Utilize Active Queue Management to relieve network traffic congestion and improve web application responsiveness
  • Improve modem energy efficiency
  • Transmit up to 50 percent more data over the same spectrum using existing hybrid fiber coaxial networks

Another important feature in DOCSIS 3.1 is that it is able to achieve all of these improvements without disruption to current DOCSIS 3.0 systems. In other words, DOCSIS 3.1 is designed to work with older 3.0 systems as product migration takes place. Interestingly, the update from 3.0 to 3.1 took place much faster than the last major tech standard improvement, according to CableLabs CEO Phil McKinney.

“To meet the demand for higher speed access and increased network efficiency, CableLabs completed the development of DOCSIS 3.1 specifications 40 percent faster than previous DOCSIS projects,” says McKinney. 

By streamlining development, key cable stakeholders were able to accelerate DOCSIS 3.1 design and testing. The result will be delivering next generation technology to consumers faster than ever before. One final fascinating fact about DOCSIS 3.1 is that NASA played a part in its development. You can read more about that here. CableLabs says that as soon as prototypes are available it will begin testing products to prepare manufacturers for certification.

You can download the full DOCSIS 3.1 specifications here.