CableLabs® in 2000

Cable World, Feb 7, 2000

The year's technology to-do list at CableLabs[R] parallels cable operator broadband bundling strategies.

OpenCable[TM], PacketCable[TM], and DOCSIS top the list. But there's more to do in the evolution of cable from a multichannel video provider to a provider of voice, video and data services as part of a broadband package.

That's why CableLabs' member companies approved a year 2000 project that: develops an in-home networking plan, launches a database that links retailers with info about cable-modem-ready neighborhoods, and starts an advanced service integration project.

Software has become a critical component which is a change from 10 years ago. "We've traditionally focused on the hardware and physical layer issues," said Dr. Richard R. Green, president/CEO of CableLabs, adding: "Traditional rules don't apply anymore; more and more, it's all software."

That's become evident in the OpenCable arena. OpenCable is on track to meet the FCC's July 2000 deadline for removable set-top security via the "POD" (point of deployment) module; an interim spec was released to manufacturers on 1/11/00. The group, headed by senior director-OpenCable Don Dulchinos is moving to finalize "middleware" that makes set-tops interoperable at retail.

PacketCable released specs in December that essentially replicate, in software, the chain of events that occurs during a phone call. This year, PacketCable will conduct interoperability testing, much like how DOCSIS evolved. Under PacketCable director Ed Miller, they will define other packet-based services, beyond telephony, that fall within its domain.

DOCSIS (known at retail as CableLabs Certified Cable Modems) has shifted to David Bukovinsky, VP-Broadband Services, who also oversees PacketCable. The project will continue interop tests of cable modems based on the 1.0 spec. Certification wave 12 started Jan. 24 with 38 modem products proposed for certification, including a slide-in cable modem card, as well as several modems that connect to PCs with a USB (universal serial bus) plug. Certification of modems under the 1.1 spec, which brings ways to "tier" high speed data service for advanced applications, will also be a big item this year.

Also on the docket: A project that seeks to integrate digitized voice, video and data so they don't become independent islands of hardware and software components. Senior executive consultant Rouzbeh Yassini will guide the project. That means harmonizing product certification activities in OpenCable, PacketCable and DOCSIS.

For cable operators, it means that critical back end functions -- like service, customer provisioning, and billing -- will be knitted together to enable targeted marketing campaigns that spread across new service categories.

The Service Locator database links retailers and PC manufacturers to up-to-date information about which U.S. and Canadian ZIP codes and geographic areas are ready for high-speed data services. This work is lead by David Reed, SVP-strategic planning.

Under the direction of Terry Shaw, senior advisor-network systems, the home networking group will pick up momentum in 2000 and will work with myriad suppliers to identify the best way to move data around to different connected devices in the networked home.