Technetix says it recently completed what it believes is the first live network field trial of DOCSIS 4.0 technology. While the company did not reveal the name of the “prominent tier one operator in Europe” who conducted the trial, its announcement came a day after Dutch cable operator VodafoneZiggo announced completion of a similar trial, without identifying its technology partners. [Editor's Note: A LinkedIn post from VodafoneZiggo Director, Fixed Networks Leo-Geert van den Berg has confirmed that the two announcements describe the same trial. van den Berg also identified other participants.]
According to Jan Ariesen, CTO at Technetix, the trial network fed approximately 150 homes, aided by the technology supplier’s 1.8-GHz Direction Neutral Network (DNN) amplifiers. The amplifiers do not require diplex filters and were able to support DOCSIS 4.0 operation with the same power consumption typically required for DOCSIS 3.1 networking, Ariesen asserted.
The Technetix announcement stated the trial network featured an N+2 architecture. Besides the DNN amplifiers, other equipment used in the trial included a Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) node, a 1.8-GHz multitap, two DOCSIS 4.0 modems, and one DOCSIS 3.1 modem. [The post from van den Berg states that Broadcom supplied the RMD and cable modem and Excentis supplied a traffic generator and custom dashboard.] The successful use of the DOCSIS 3.1 modem illustrated backwards compatibility, according to Technetix.
The service provider was able to demonstrate 16K QAM up to 1.8 GHz, resulting in at least 15 Gbps downstream and 2 Gbps upstream, Ariesen reported. The 17-Gbps total transmission reading derived from limitations of the test equipment used in the trial, he added; Ariesen said Technetix has shown 19 Gbps in total throughput, which the amplifiers enable operators to divide flexibly between upstream and downstream as their requirements demand.
Ariesen added that the DNN technology is under test at other operators, including some in the U.S. and Canada. He said he expects at least some of these efforts to move to field trials later this year.
VodafoneZiggo details
The VodafoneZiggo DOCSIS 4.0 trial involved the VodafoneZiggo TEC Campus in Amsterdam. "With the use of DOCSIS 4.0 in the network, we are going to provide even greater service reliability and more capacity, which will make even more bandwidth available for all internet and entertainment services on the network. Without the inconvenience as there is no need to dig up the street," said Leo-Geert van den Berg, director, fixed networks at VodafoneZiggo.
However, VodafoneZiggo did not reveal when it might roll out DOCSIS 4.0. The company launched 1-Gbps services to its customers via DOCSIS 3.1 nationwide at the end of last year. “For now, a speed of 1 Gbps is more than enough for most households,” the cable operator stated in the press release that announced the trial.
