100MBPS cable modems coming in ‘08. Will your provider deploy them?

We may have a small bandwidth war in the making depending on what cable system operators do or do not do with it.

Cable Labs now has DOCSIS 5 modems from 5 manufacturers for certification testing. The conservative estimate for the modems capability as a deployed service is 100MPS down, with less going back up the line. The technology has the potential for 160MBPS downloads with 120MBPS up.

Cable ISPs currently use DOCSIS 1.1, which has been “good enough” in the past. Unfortunately, when compared to fiber, DOCSIS 1.1 lacks in the speed department. DOCSIS 3.0 has the potential to drastically change that, with download speeds of up to 160Mbps and uploads of up to 120Mbps possible. In addition, DOCSIS 3.0 also offers full support for IPv6, along with enhanced network management and security features. DOCSIS 3.0 also offers enough bandwidth for IPTV and other high-def video services.

Trials of pre-DOCSIS 3.0 gear have been promising. One of the deployments mentioned above has resulted in download speeds of 100Mbps for customers of a South Korean ISP that has a reach of 1.1 million subscribers. Another DOCSIS 3.0 trial in Singapore earlier this year saw speeds of up to 145Mbps. (from ARS Technica)

Any new competition is good. If the cable companies expect to stay in the game, they will need to deploy DOCSIS 3. We still need a third pipe to make the fields a bit more competitive. So far US cable operator has committed to any deployment.