CableLabs Settles Comcast-TWC Dispute Over Next-Gen Networks
CHICAGO -- Comcast and Time Warner Cable have settled their months-long dispute over a prospective next-generation access architecture for the cable industry, clearing the way for cable operators and equipment vendors to develop denser, more powerful networks for broadband and IP video use. In a release pointedly issued during the Cable Show, CableLabs said it will consolidate the various technical and operational differences between the two dueling next-gen architectures: Comcast’s earlier Converged Multiservice Access Platform (CMAP) and Time Warner Cable’s later Converged Edge Services Access Router (CESAR) project. CableLabs said the new compromise standard, known as the Converged Cable Access Platform (CCAP), will incorporate the main features of the proposed architectures of both cable operators.
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As part of its announcement earlier this week, CableLabs also came out with a fresh technical report that defines and describes the consensus requirements for the new CCAP architecture. Most notably the report sets the parameters for the new CCAP device, a cable headend box crafted to merge the functions of the industry’s current edge quadrature amplitude modulators and cable modem terminations systems, which process video and data signals, respectively. CCAP’s goal is to create a super-dense architecture that places cable on a path toward service convergence and full IP video delivery while producing vast power and space savings.
For equipment vendors, the CableLabs announcement means that they shouldn’t have to spend more money building two separate headend boxes for the two cable operators and their various partners. Individual cable operators, however, will still have the flexibility to set technical requirements that go beyond the general CCAP specs. CableLabs said it is also developing additional specs to address CCAP’s operational and support systems.
Senior engineering executives from Comcast and Time Warner Cable, who worked behind the scenes to bring their technical teams together on CCAP over the spring, welcomed the CableLabs announcement. “This blending of our two approaches will help create an industry-wide approach for access technology platforms,” said Comcast Cable Chief Technology Officer Tony Werner. “We are engaged in this CableLabs process and are actively contributing to its efforts on CCAP.” Time Warner Cable is “pleased with the industry consensus for the next generation of access platform,” said CTO Mike LaJoie. “This platform will provide the economic scale for the industry to provide new high bandwidth services."
The CCAP compromise standard will resolve several notable differences between the competing CMAP and CESAR initiatives. For one thing, CMAP and CESAR had differed over the preferred size of the new headend device. To settle the issue, the new CCAP specs will now define two sizes -- one size for cable systems that serve many service groups and a smaller version for networks that serve smaller service groups. The CESAR spec had called for smaller serving groups, while CMAP had envisioned both big and small service groups.
Settling another key difference between the two proposed cable operator specs, CCAP will permit cable operators to either integrate their encryption systems into the new headend device or keep them separate. CMAP had called for integrating the encryption systems while CESAR had called for keeping them apart.
In an apparent win for Comcast, the new CCAP spec will still offer cable operators and vendors the option of developing integrated and modular versions of the headend architecture. CMAP had endorsed both the integrated and modular approaches, while CESAR had called for just the integrated implementation. CCAP will also feature the proposed migration path originally developed for CMAP, which will allow MSOs to deploy the new gear in downstream-only mode at first if they choose.
This union of the two separate but equal next-gen tech standards had been in the making for a while. Other leading cable providers and equipment suppliers, fearful of yet another crippling industry split between Comcast and Time Warner over equipment standards, have been lobbying the two big MSOs for months to bury the hatchet and combine forces for the good of the industry.
In an indication of the industry’s huge sigh of relief at the news, Cox Communications, one of CMAP’s key contributors along with Rogers Communications, hailed the CableLabs announcement immediately. “The CCAP architecture will be an important element of our future strategy for access technology,” said Jay Rolls, Cox Communications senior vice president of technology. “It will be very helpful as we continue to assess our deployment scenarios."
As before, field trials of these next-gen access network devices are expected to start later this year and then expand in 2012. Comcast executives, who will likely be the first to proceed with tests and pilot launches, said they believe test and deployment plans will continue to go forward as scheduled.
This week’s consolidation move by CableLabs is its latest in a series of efforts by the R&D organization to push a new access architecture for the cable industry. In January, Comcast, Cox, Rogers and their other cable operator partners transferred the interface specs for CMAP to CableLabs, in a bid to foster a multi-vendor, interoperable product ecosystem for the device.