At the International CES in Las Vegas, the NCTA, CableLabs and Cable Europe introduced the cable industry's vision for delivering 10 gigabit networks, dubbed 10G - a technology platform intended to ramp up from today's 1 Gbps offerings to symmetrical speeds of 10 Gbps and beyond - to consumers in the United States and across the globe in the coming years. To support the rollout, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) plans to deliver 10 Gbps-ready technology from network infrastructure to home gateways.
"This is a new standard called 10 Gigabit Full Duplex DOCSIS, or 10G FDX," said Ann Finnie, CableLabs' director of communications. "It is enabled by a collection of technologies, some existing, some brand-new, including hybrid fiber/coax and DOCSIS, but also new adaptive digital technologies including echo cancellation, advanced noise suppression and TTD frame structures."
Cable operators in the United States, whose networks currently pass 85% of U.S. homes, including Comcast, Charter, Cox, Mediacom, Midco and others - plus international operators, including Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications, Vodafone, Taiwan Broadband Communications, Telecom Argentina, Liberty Global and more, are implementing the new 10G initiative, with lab trials already underway, and field trials scheduled to begin in 2020.
"With groundbreaking, scalable capacity and speeds, the 10G platform is the wired network of the future that will power the digital experiences and imaginations of consumers for years to come," said NCTA President and CEO Michael Powell. "As an industry, we are dedicated to delivering an exceptional national infrastructure that will power digital advancement and propel our innovation economy into the future."
Leveraging the cable networks already deployed throughout much of North America, Europe and Asia, the 10G network is intended to support a variety of digital services and applications. On the path to accomplishing 10G, Internet providers will continue to upgrade their networks with a combination of technologies that currently exist alongside the ongoing advancements of new hardware, software and techniques that are being developed and tested by technologists and vendors.
"CableLabs creates the technology that supports the deployment of high-capacity broadband networks and gigabit services at scale for the industry," said CableLabs President and CEO Phil McKinney. "With the 10G platform, CableLabs will help ensure the broadband infrastructure will be in place globally with the capacity and performance needed in the future to fuel new innovations and emerging technologies that will transform and enhance the way we live."
The 10G platform is being introduced at CES in the session "The Future of the Broadband Network" at The Four Seasons on Wednesday, Jan. 9, at 9 a.m. PT. Speakers from the NCTA, CableLabs and member companies will participate.
Among the cable operators on board with the 10G initiative is Midco. The company plans to invest $500 million over 10 years on 10G, which will take place in phases. Midco says it currently has lab trials underway.
"The 10G Vision is to create a seamlessly connected smart world, enabling technology that will reinvent the way we live, and empower experiences for people. After our successful launch of gigabit Internet to 90% of our Midco footprint, this is the next great leap for broadband," said Pat McAdaragh, Midco president and CEO.
McAdaragh serves on the board of directors for the NCTA.
"The Midco Network is already well prepared for 10G in locations such as Fargo, Dickinson and Annandale, because we've built fiber-deep," said Jon Pederson, chief technology officer at Midco. "All future buildouts, line extensions and upgrades will be constructed in the same fashion with fiber pushed deeper into the network - closer to the customer - to ready our network paths for 10G performance."
"10G also complements and enables mobile providers' 5G networks," said Pederson. "In fact, multiple mobile providers already use Midco fiber to power their towers. The 10G platform of the future will be even more robust to serve this and future technologies."
More information on the 10G platform is available at https://www.10gplatform.com/.
