Time Warner buys Terayon's
DOCSIS 2.0-based modems

Duffy Hayes, CED
CED Broaband Direct, October 21, 2002

Known in years past as the division within Time Warner Cable that launched the "Full Service Network" trial for once-green interactive services, the MSO's Central Florida division announced Monday the addition of DOCSIS 2.0-based cable modems from Terayon Communication Systems to its high-speed Internet mix.

Specifically, TWC will add Terayon's TJ 615 modems, which are DOCSIS 1.1-certified, but are outfitted for the DOCSIS 2.0 specification, which boasts a broader upstream path and greater noise resistance.

In addition to TWC, three other MSOs -- Adelphia Communications, Cox Communications and Comcast Cable Communications - have purchased Terayon's DOCSIS 2.0-based modems.

The Central Florida Division is one of Time Warner's largest, passing more than 1.1 million homes and serving more than 710,000 basic subscribers in nine Florida counties.

Cable operators are just starting to adopt cable modem technologies based on the DOCSIS 2.0 specification; the timing coincides with the start of CableLabs' certification wave 24, just underway last week. In the latest cert wave, a handful of cable modem makers, including Motorola Broadband, Scientific-Atlanta, Texas Instruments, Xrosstech and Terayon, submitted cable modem models for official DOCSIS 2.0 certification testing.

Terayon submitted its TJ 715 model in the first DOCSIS 2.0 certification wave, though Time Warner opted for the DOCSIS 1.1-certified TJ 615 for its Central Florida subscribers. Both models, however, are based on Imedia Semiconductor chipsets. Imedia is Terayon's wholly owned semiconductor spin-off company.