By Amit Garg, James Moon, Comcast Corporation
DOCSIS 3.0 (D3) enables channel bonding, i.e. multiple downstream (DS) and multiple upstream (US) RF carriers that can be combined to provide a wideband service.
In this paper, we demonstrate that channel bonding not only provides multi-system operators (MSOs) with the opportunity to offer faster speeds to their customers, but also provides an opportunity to reduce capital required to meet the growing traffic demand.
Combinatorial models were used to assess the opportunity for such load balancing gains.
Later, empirical data was used to measure the load balancing gains achieved on a plant with D3 cable modem termination systems (CMTSs). Eventually, results from a trial with paying subscribers demonstrated the impact of providing D3 modems to select customers.