A new carrier-class cable modem termination system from Casa Systems has quietly obtained 'Full' Docsis 3.0 qualification from CableLabs

Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor

December 17, 2008

5 Min Read
CableLabs Cheers Casa Chassis

CableLabs has awarded “Full” Docsis 3.0 as well as PacketCable 1.5 qualification to a new cable modem termination system (CMTS) chassis from Casa Systems Inc. that, the vendor claims, is fully redundant -- a requirement for most cable-fed VoIP services.

That product, dubbed the C10200, will do the competitive tango with carrier-class CMTS chassis from Arris Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRS), Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), and Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT).

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So far, Casa Systems, a startup based in Andover, Mass., is the only CMTS vendor to obtain the coveted Full Docsis 3.0 qualification designation from CableLabs. Other CMTS vendors, including Arris, Cisco, and Motorola, have yet to get past the “Bronze” level, which includes features such as downstream channel bonding and IPv6. Silver qualification adds in upstream channel bonding, and Full (obviously) includes everything covered in the Docsis 3.0 specs.

CableLabs granted Full Docsis 3.0 qualification to Casa Systems’s C10200 CMTS following Wave 64. Two other Casa Systems CMTS models -- the C2200 and the C3200 -- obtained Full Docsis 3.0 qualification in previous test waves. Here's an updated list of CMTSs that have gained the Docsis 3.0 stamp:

Table 2: Docsis 3.0-Qualified Cable Modem Termination Systems (CMTSs)

 Vendor  

 Product  

 Wave qualified  

 Highest level of 3.0 qualification achieved*  

Arris

C4 CMTS

56

Bronze

Casa Systems

C2200 CMTS**

58

Full

Casa Systems

C3200 CMTS

58

Full

Casa Systems

C10200

64

Full

Cisco

uBR10012

56

Bronze

Motorola

BSR64000

58

Bronze

* CableLabs presently uses a tiered CMTS qualification system, awarding "Bronze," "Silver," and "Full" designations based on the product's supported features. That tiered system is expected to sunset in early 2009.
** Casa's C2200 CMTS won Silver qualification in Wave 56.
Source: The companies and CableLabs.





CableLabs has not officially announced it, but it’s expected that the Louisville, Colo.-based R&D house will sunset the Bronze qualification level early next year, meaning CMTS vendors will have to shoot for Silver or better in subsequent test waves.

How much good obtaining Full qualification will do for Casa Systems remains to be seen. The vendor has yet to announce any trials or deployments, which has caused some (us, for instance) to wonder if the company could become a coveted acquisition target for an existing CMTS vendor or a more established supplier that is looking to attack the Docsis 3.0 sector head-on as MSOs around the world start to deploy wideband Internet services.

But, according to Casa Systems CEO Jerry Guo, his company does have some deals cooking, and expects to announce “several deployments” in short order. “We are not qualifying [CMTSs] just for the fun of it... We are deploying [CMTSs] in very large scale,” Guo noted in an email to Cable Digital News.

Orient Telecom joins the Docsis 3.0 club
The cable modem side of Docsis 3.0 welcomed a new certified vendor -- Orient Telecom, a South Korea-based company that got the stamp for a model that CableLabs lists as the “ORT3100.”

SMC Networks Inc. also won Docsis 3.0 certification in Wave 64 for the SMCD3G-BIZ, a four-port Ethernet cable modem gateway with an 802.11n option. Netgear Inc. (Nasdaq: NTGR)also got the OK for an embedded multimedia terminal adapter (E-MTA). Fourteen modem models have obtained Docsis 3.0 certification through Wave 64. Here’s an updated list:

Table 1: Docsis 3.0-Certified Modems and E-MTAs

 Vendor  

 Product  

 Certification Wave approved  

Ambit

U10C035

58, 63**

Arris

Touchstone 702G Embedded Multimedia Terminal Adapter

58, 59*, 63**

Arris

WBM750A

59, 63**

Cisco

DPC3000

58, 63**

Cisco

DPQ3202

60, 63**

Hitron

BRG-35503

61, 63**

Motorola

SB6120

58, 63**

Motorola

SBV6220

58, 59*, 63**

Netgear

CMD31T

60, 63**

Netgear

CVD31XT

64

Orient Telecom

ORT3100

64

SerComm Corp.

FM301T

63

SMC

SMCD3CM

58, 63**

SMC

SMCD3G-BIZ

64

*Device re-certified for Docsis 3.0 and obtained initial PacketCable 1.5 certification in Wave 59.
** Device re-certified for Docsis 3.0 in Wave 63.
Source: CableLabs and the companies





According to the latest CableLabs schedule, Certification Wave 65 will begin in mid-January, with published results expected by mid-April.

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Cable Digital News

About the Author(s)

Jeff Baumgartner

Senior Editor, Light Reading

Jeff Baumgartner is a Senior Editor for Light Reading and is responsible for the day-to-day news coverage and analysis of the cable and video sectors. Follow him on X and LinkedIn.

Baumgartner also served as Site Editor for Light Reading Cable from 2007-2013. In between his two stints at Light Reading, he led tech coverage for Multichannel News and was a regular contributor to Broadcasting + Cable. Baumgartner was named to the 2018 class of the Cable TV Pioneers.

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