CableLabs OKs Seven More Devices

CableLabs got the year off to a brisk start last week by approving at least seven new tech devices in the R&D consortium's inaugural product testing round of 2006. Wrapping up Certification Wave (CW) #41, CableLabs passed a wide variety of different devices in the first of the year's eight testing rounds. As often happens, the roster included one simple cable data modem, one embedded multimedia terminal adapter (E-MTA) and two home networking gateways. But, in more unusual fashion, the roster also included two integrated cable modem, E-MTA and gateway devices and one DOCSIS Set-top Gateway (DSG) box. The two integrated residential gateway devices stand out because they represent just the fourth and fifth such devices simultaneously approved under the DOCSIS, CableHome and PacketCable standards. The two triple-threat devices from Scientific-Atlanta and Thomson, which can handle high-speed data, VoIP and home networking applications, join three others approved in December. Ed Miller, vice president of advanced network systems for CableLabs, noted that two of the E-MTAs, including one of the integrated devices, also stand out because they earned PacketCable 1.5 approval. The two E-MTAs, manufactured by Netgear and Thomson, are just the second and third to pass under the higher PacketCable 1.5 spec.