Comcast announced this week that it has successfully tested a full duplex DOCSIS system-on-chip (SOC) device from Broadcom, which Comcast says will enable it to deliver to deliver multi-gigabit upload and download speeds over its hybrid-fiber coaxial (HFC) network.
The live lab test was conducted by Comcast researchers in Philadelphia and Denver, with the Broadcom SoC installed in a simulated network environment that enabled the performance of the full-duplex DOCSIS features to be tracked. Comcast said its team demonstrated that the SoC could deliver throughput of greater than 4 Gbps, upstream and downstream. The Broadcom SoC is expected to become the first product silicon developed using DOCSIS 4.0 Full Duplex, Comcast said, and added that “tuture optimization is expected to drive even greater capacity.”
“This milestone is particularly exciting, because this technology is an important step forward toward unlocking multigigabit upload and download speeds for hundreds of millions of people worldwide, not just a select few,” said Charlie Herrin, president of technology, product and Xperience at Comcast Cable.
In other test news:
–Spirent Communications has unveiled what it says is the industry’s first subscription-based 5G core test suite. The company says its new Spirent Landslide 5GC Automation Package includes a library of hundreds of test cases related to capacity, performance testing and compliance for nodal, adjacency and end-to-end core evaluation, to help speed up bringing 5G services to market compared to manual 5G core test case development — which Spirent says typically takes many months. The offering is built around multiple Spirent products, including its Landslide core emulation and Velocity test automation as well as its experience in professional services.
“This is a true automation pipeline approach for service providers that need to accelerate their 5G deployment while managing tight budgets and resources,” said Doug Roberts, general manager of Spirent’s Lifecycle Service Assurance business. “The value extends well beyond initial deployment, helping validate network changes and, as standards evolve, eliminating the need to resource for ongoing test development.”
Also this week, Spirent said that it supported validation of 800G optical transceiver interoperability with optical transceiver manufacturer InnoLight Technology. The two companies worked closely to develop an 800G link and emulate the traffic of hyperscale datacenters, Spirent said, adding that the project successfully demonstrated an 800G link up and line rate traffic transmission using IEEE’s 802.3ck OSFP for VSR application.
–Aurora Insights says it has finished preliminary testing and started collecting radio frequency mapping data of terrestrial wireless networks with its second satellite, Charlie, which was launched in January of this year (see RCR Wireless News story here). Aurora’s third satellite, Bravo, will launch later this month via ArianeSpace’s Vega, on the VV18 mission.
“Receiving our first data set from Charlie is a huge step forward for our company, and for spectrum monitoring worldwide,” said Aurora Insight CEO Jennifer Alvarez in a statement. “As a finite, limited resource, wireless spectrum has never been more critical for our economy and the future of connectivity. We are particularly looking forward to using our newest satellites to capture valuable data on 5G network deployments across the globe. With this new layer of global spectrum data from our satellites, we are well equipped to provide the wireless industry with actionable data for investment decisions and long-term growth.”
–Keysight Technologies said that its Nemo 5G network test solutions are being used by Fujitsu to collect and analyze data about the private 5G network at its Collaboration Lab in Kawasaki, Japan.
–PCTel, which designs and manufactures both test equipment and antennas for critical communications, joined industry group The Critical Communications Association (TCCA).
“PCTEL’s expertise across the range of wireless technologies will enable the company to bring much knowledge to TCCA, particularly relating to the US market,” said Tony Gray, TCCA chief executive. “With FirstNet leading the field in public safety broadband implementation, and with TETRA steadily increasing its footprint in North America, PCTEL’s experience will be a highly valuable resource.
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