Australia's National Broadband Network (nbn) has been granted membership of global cable research and development body CableLabs. nbn will become the 56th member of CableLabs joining U.S. cable operators such as Comcast, Charter, Altice and Cox Communications as well as International operators Liberty Global, Jupiter Telecom, Shaw Communications, Rogers Communications and Vodafone.
The nbn access network, originally envisioned as an all-fiber deployment, also uses DOCSIS technologies in some areas.
CableLabs R&D work helps to bring technologies such as DOCSIS 3.1 - currently delivering 1 Gbps speeds to cable subscribers – into the market, and the organization is currently working on developing Full Duplex DOCSIS technology that promises symmetrical speeds of 10 Gbps.
nbn Chief Technology Officer Dennis Steiger, said: "nbn is delighted and honoured to have been accepted as a member of CableLabs. This is a great reflection of the work the team is doing to deliver a world class HFC network here in Australia. "Our story here at nbn is unique globally and we are really excited about working alongside CableLabs to deliver the best HFC product in the market."
Phil McKinney, president and CEO of CableLabs, said: "We are very pleased to welcome Australia's National Broadband Network to CableLabs as our 56th member and our first in Australia. "As the research and development lab for the global cable industry, we are looking forward to supporting nbn's deployment of DOCSIS 3.1 in its integrated optical fiber and coaxial cable network."
