Cable Industry Formalizes DOCSIS Modem Certification Plan
Louisville, Colorado, November 17, 1997—Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. (CableLabs®)
and its members have established a formal path of certification for cable modem
equipment suppliers to obtain an "interoperability seal" for their high-speed data
delivery devices based on the MCNS/DOCSIS specification.
This certification process would provide cable modem equipment suppliers with a
fast, market-oriented method for attaining cable industry acknowledgment of compliance
with the cable Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS). DOCSIS
defines interface requirements for cable modems involved in high-speed data distribution
over a cable television network.
The plan's central element is a cable operator staffed Certification Board that
would control the issuance of an "interoperability seal" and compliance with the
DOCSIS process. The seal is meant to provide a purchasing cable operator with a
way for that operator to be confident that the modem equipment to be purchased is
compliant with the specification, and that the equipment interoperates with other
DOCSIS products made by other vendors.
"We have had tremendous support from the cable modem supplier community through
the DOCSIS program," said Dr. Richard R. Green. "We fully expect that cooperation
to be amplified as we near the successful resolution of compliance and interoperability
issues and start to see volume shipping of first generation, field-grade DOCSIS
equipment."
David Fellows, MediaOne chief technology officer, said that technology verification,
certification, field evaluation and successful commercialization "all together are
key elements of assuring interoperability and compliance with DOCSIS. We have worked
through the technology verification and the test procedures. Now, certification
is the next critical step for our industry."
"A certification program is key to our current cable modem RFP effort. Before we
procure MCNS modems, we must be assured of interoperability among selected vendors,"
said Susan Marshall, vice president of engineering and technical operations at TCI.NET.
Said Mario Vecchi, senior vice president and chief technology officer at Time Warner's
Road Runner Group: "CableLabs has been the primary venue for identifying and resolving
interoperability issues. The certification program is the next logical step in our
industry's efforts to attain cable modem interoperability."
Before receiving the seal of interoperability, a cable modem supplier will: (1)
Complete the CableLabs conformance checklist and submit it as an affidavit of DOCSIS
conformance. (2) Successfully complete the CableLabs common test suite in their
own laboratories to the satisfaction of an inspection team made up of cable operators
and CableLabs staff. (3) Participate in interoperability testing with CableLabs
each time certification is sought for a new or revised product.
CableLabs will provide suppliers with the conformance checklist, the system test
suite, and opportunities for the suppliers to bring their DOCSIS products together
under an open, interoperability-testing environment, such as the Western Show.
The web site http://www.cablemodem.com will be used to post updates on vendors who
receive DOCSIS certification and are deemed to be compliant with the specification.
About CableLabs: Cable Television Laboratories (www.cablelabs.com) was founded in
1988 by members of the cable television industry. A non-profit research and development
consortium, CableLabs delivers innovations that enable cable operators to be the
providers of choice in their markets. Cable operators from around the world are
members. CableLabs maintains additional web sites at www.cablenet.org, www.ebif.tv
and www.tru2way.com.
CableLabs® is a registered trademark of Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. Other
CableLabs marks are listed at http://www.cablelabs.com/certqual/trademarks. All
other marks are the property of their respective owners.