CableLabs launches DOCSIS 3.1 specifications

CableLabs on Wednesday released the product specs for DOCSIS 3.1, a new platform that will enable a new generation of cable services and help operators continue to meet consumer demand for high speed connections and sophisticated applications, positioning them to be the providers of choice in their markets.

"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," CableLabs CEO Phil McKinney said in a prepared statement. "These specifications represent the combined work of a large consortium of cable industry stakeholders."

Among the specifications is support for up to 10 Gbps downstream and up to 1 Gbps upstream network capabilities. Overall, DOCSIS 3.1 is expected to be about 50% more efficient than DOCSIS 3.0 partly through the use of OFDM, a technique that will enable operators to pack tiny subcarriers into wide blocks of bandwidth and utilize higher levels of modulation. DOCSIS 3.1 will also support low density parity-check (LDPC), a Forward Error Correction (FEC) scheme that uses less bandwidth than the current Reed-Solomon approach.

CableLabs said in Wednesday's announcement that it will conduct interoperability tests on DOCSIS 3.1 products "as soon as prototypes are available."

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