Cable-technology consortium CableLabs and its subsidiary Kyrio will start their certification process for cable modems using the new DOCSIS 4.0 network standard on June 26.
DOCSIS 4.0 is the successor technology to DOCSIS 3.1, which was hoisted upon the cable industry a decade ago by CableLabs. It’s a broad grouping of technologies needed to deliver the cable industry's promise of a “10G” future — download speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second, and upload speeds as high as 6 Gbps.
And testing ain't cheap. According to FierceTelecom, modem certification starts at around $200,000 to test a single device in one iteration of DOCSIS 4.0 — either the Full Duplex (FDX) variety preferred by Comcast, or the Extended Spectrum DOCSIS (ESD) version adopted by Charter and Cox. It cost more if you want to test using both technologies.
To manage costs for operators, CableLabs and Kyrio are introducing “success-based testing” — devices can be updated during the certification process without additional fees until they are successfully certified.
CableLabs and Kyrio are also not charging extra to test DOCSIS 4.0 modems for verified DOCSIS 3.1 interoperability.
The consortium is hosting a Zoom session on Wednesday, June 28 at 11 a.m. MT to provide more details about its certification program. More information can be found on this page.
