S-A unveils new WebSTAR cable modem

By Susan Rush
From The October 4, 2002 Edition Of CED Broadband Direct

The latest WebSTAR cable modem offering from Scientific-Atlanta Inc. will upgradeable to DOCSIS 2.0, the company says.

The WebSTAR DPX2100 will be upgradeable to DOCSIS 2.0 via a software download, according to S-A.

The DPX2100, which recently received DOCSIS 1.1 certification, incorporates the Broadcom BCM3348 DOCSIS/Euro-DOCSIS 2.0 capable cable modem integrated circuit (IC). The IC enables the delivery of A-TDMA (Advanced Frequency Agile Time Division Multiple Access) and S-CDMA (Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) modulation modes, which are needed to meet DOCSIS 2.0 certification and functionality requirements. The BCM3348 combines a DOCSIS 1.0/1.1/2.0-based media access controller with A-TDMA and S-CDMA advanced physical layer technology, including on-chip analog-to-digital converters, power amplifiers and voltage regulators.

Motorola Inc.'s SB4300 also has been certified with the BCM3348 chipset.

The DOCSIS 2.0 specification was finalized in January and is now in the interoperability phase. DOCSIS 2.0 is an advanced physical layer addition to modem functions. The spec can increase upstream bandwidth for cable modems to 30 megabits per second — three times that of DOCSIS 1.1 units.

The DPX2100 will be available for cable modem trials by the end of the year.

During the fourth quarter, S-A shipped 272,000 WebSTAR cable modems, the company said in July.