Gigabites: Arris Bulks Up on Gigabit Gateways

Arris is launching a new gigabit gateway that includes a dedicated video SSID for wireless video streaming.

Mari Silbey, Senior Editor, Cable/Video

September 23, 2016

4 Min Read
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It's Friday! In today's roundup of gigabit news, Arris expands its gigabit gateway line, AT&T sues Nashville over a new Google-friendly law, Ting adds to its list of gigabit cities and more.

  • As cable operators transition to DOCSIS 3.1 networks with gigabit speeds, Arris Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRS) is offering a newly expanded suite of D3.1 gateways to help them on their way. Specifically, the cable vendor is adding a less expensive, entry-level product called the TG3442 to its lineup of Touchstone gigabit gateways. The new product complements the "performance-tier" TG3452 telephony gateway, which offers voice support, faster speeds and "carrier-grade video," as well as the "premium-tier" TG3462 telephony gateway, which includes support for new IoT applications.

    One of the primary features that Arris touts with its Touchstone gateways is the ability to ensure high-quality video delivery over an in-home wireless network. Video, after all, is what's driving the need for gigabit broadband. Among the quality-of-service functions in the gateways, Arris is including a dedicated video SSID, which creates a WiFi link specifically for use by wireless set-tops. That means that set-tops get their own dedicated bandwidth in the home for video streaming.

    Arris is also highlighting security and service management features in its gigabit gateways, as well as IoT functions. The most advanced gateway in the Touchstone portfolio includes multiple IoT radios and a software stack that was built to support applications that ease the onboarding, provisioning and monitoring of Internet-connected devices. On that front, Arris has also introduced a new Touchstone Development Partner Program. Through the program Arris is working with software developers to create the applications that will enable new connected-home services.

For more gigabit coverage and insights, check out our dedicated Gigabit/Broadband content channel here on Light Reading.

  • Although gigabit broadband is spreading, there are regions of the US where non-incumbent providers are running into roadblocks. As expected this week, Nashville passed its One Touch Make Ready ordinance, which is designed to streamline the process for attaching new equipment to utility poles. The ruling is supposed to make it easier for Google and others to enter the market with new gigabit broadband services, but, as was also expected, AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) has now filed suit against Nashville in an attempt to get the ruling overturned. If the matter isn't resolved, Google Fiber Inc. could decide to pull out of Nashville altogether. (See Gigabites: Google's Back on the Pole.)

    • In another example of the law getting in the way of gigabit expansion, Ars Technica noted this week that the town of Pinetops, North Carolina is losing gigabit service in the wake of a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit that allows states to prohibit or limit municipal broadband deployments. The town of Wilson had expanded its gigabit service to nearby Pinetops, but is now having to shutter service according to state law. (See Is Wheeler's FCC Legacy Now in Doubt?)

    • In better news, Ting, a subsidiary of Tucows , announced this week that it's taking pre-orders for gigabit service in its fifth city. Ting is headed next to Centennial, Colorado. The company told Light Reading that it uses a mixture of Adtran Inc. (Nasdaq: ADTN) and Calix Inc. (NYSE: CALX) solutions in its gigabit networks, with ZyXEL Communications Corp. routers deployed to customer homes. (See Gigabites: Ting Makes Holly Springs Sing.)

    • Other gigabit deployments announced recently include five new municipalities using Calix solutions in Colorado, Iowa and Tennessee. Vyve Broadband also just announced that it's launching gigabit service in Ketchum and Monkey Island in Oklahoma.

    • Finally, in case you missed it, AT&T made big news this week with the announcement that it's discovered a new way to deliver multi-gigabit speeds wirelessly to consumer homes using existing power lines. The telco expects to start trials with the technology -- called "Project AirGig" -- next year. (See AT&T Claims 'Breakthrough' With New Power Line Delivery Tech for 4G, 5G.)

      — Mari Silbey, Senior Editor, Cable/Video, Light Reading

About the Author

Mari Silbey

Senior Editor, Cable/Video

Mari Silbey is a senior editor covering broadband infrastructure, video delivery, smart cities and all things cable. Previously, she worked independently for nearly a decade, contributing to trade publications, authoring custom research reports and consulting for a variety of corporate and association clients. Among her storied (and sometimes dubious) achievements, Mari launched the corporate blog for Motorola's Home division way back in 2007, ran a content development program for Limelight Networks and did her best to entertain the video nerd masses as a long-time columnist for the media blog Zatz Not Funny. She is based in Washington, D.C.

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