DOCSIS, developed by CableLabs, is a set of standards for cable data transfer and affects cable modems. The current version is 2.0, with version 3.0 under development. CableLabs certified modems are state of the art and there is also a European version called EuroDOCSIS.
Television signals are transmitted at warp speed today, or so it seems. Data is sent and received via cables and the whole process can happen in the blink of an eye. These days, even cable TV can provide Internet access. Every widely used data transfer process requires specifications and standards, and CATV is no different. The standards developed by CableLabs, an industry-wide nonprofit research firm, are called DOCSIS, an acronym for Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification.
The first DOCSIS, version 1.0, appeared in 1997. The current version, 2.0, was released in 2002. Version 2.0 includes the necessary updates to include IP telephony and other real-time operations. DOCSIS version 3.0 is under development. Industry experts expect it to include best practices for using cutting-edge technologies to provide users with so-called channel bonding, a combination of send and receive functions that can occur during the same transmission.
DOCSIS also affects cable modems, which provide strictly Internet access. While the data transferred is not necessarily of a video nature, it is still governed by DOCSIS. As with cable television devices, cable modems need to transfer information at a certain speed and frequency range.
The idea of having standards came from competing technologies that were hurting the market as a whole. As a result, the industry giants came together and agreed to create a set of standards to govern the specifics of cable data transfer, including the modems used to make those transfers. The result was DOCSIS.
CableLabs, the official author of DOCSIS, was born out of this process. DOCSIS or CableLabs certified modems are considered state of the art. You, the consumer, can buy a modem that isn’t as certified, but you run the risk of inoperability, as was the case before DOCSIS was created. There is also a version of DOCSIS for European cable providers. This is EuroDOCSIS.
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