[altis]

ARRIS recently announced a "FlexPath Wideband" product based on the latter technique. Its initial implementation embeds four cable modem chips in a new Wideband cable modem. Each chip can be tuned to a different upstream and downstream DOCSIS channel. The CMTS multiplexes data across up to four downstream channels, and the modem combines packets sent through the four channels to obtain a single higher-speed data stream. The same technique is used for upstream data. Using DOCSIS 2.0, the modem is capable of bi-directional operation at close to 160 Mbps. Interesting, the new modem requires a 1000Base-T ("gigabit Ethernet") computer interface since the conventional 100Base-T interface would limit the maximum speed to 100 Mbps.

ARRIS says the new modem will work with existing ARRIS CMTS equipment after a software download to support channel bonding, and that several MSOs are already running field trials of the new equipment. The new software supports existing single-channel modems on the same DOCSIS channels, using bonding only for the new wideband modems.

Although the announced product is limited to bonding four channels, ARRIS expects later models to bond up to 32 channels, permitting peak speeds of 1 Gbps.

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