1:25 PM -- DENVER -- SCTE Cable-Tec Expo -- Cox Communications Inc. is test-driving S-CDMA (Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access), an advanced physical Docsis technology that gives upstream traffic a boost in the lower (sometimes very noisy) regions of cable's spectrum.

Cox is kicking the tires on S-CDMA on an "ugly node" in an undisclosed system as part of a 90-day field trial that got underway in early September, according to Floyd Wagoner, director of marketing and communications of Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT)'s access networks unit. Moto claims the S-CDMA test has been running error-free since the pilot got underway.

Moto is showing off S-CDMA here at the show, and hopes results of the trial will help prove that the technology is ready for prime time and easily extended to existing Docsis environments.

Moto's S-CDMA expertise has largely come by way of its 2007 purchase of Terayon Communication Systems, which invented S-CDMA and later offered it royalty-free in the Docsis 2.0 specs. (See Motorola to Buy Terayon for $140M.)

S-CDMA has not gotten much in the way of adoption because most MSOs opted for A-TDMA (Advanced Time Division Multiple Access), the other advanced PHY layer of Docsis 2.0.

Motorola is tooting the S-CDMA horn now as MSOs are starting to get serious about adding upstream capacity and tapping channels that are typically unusable due to high noise levels. (See Moto Preaches Cable's Upstream Savior .)

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Cable Digital News