ARRIS Announces Major Downstream Density Upgrade and IPv6 Support for C4® CMTS

SUWANEE, Ga., Oct. 19, /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ARRIS (Nasdaq: ARRS) today announced its highly-anticipated downstream module upgrade, significantly increasing the downstream density of the DOCSIS® 3.0 C4 CMTS.  Adding increased downstream density gives cable operators the ability to deliver more bandwidth per subscriber at a much lower cost than previously possible.  For customers, it will provide higher speed service tiers, especially for eight channel bonded services – enabling speeds up to 304 Mb/s for North American  DOCSIS (Annex B) and 400 Mb/s for European DOCSIS (Annex A).  Additionally, the C4's support for IPv6 is critical for the industry since the supply of available IP addresses has shrunk significantly while the demand for new addresses keeps rising.

DOCSIS 3.0 was initially introduced in 2008 on the C4 CMTS with a 16 downstream channel single slot Cable Access Module (CAM).  With this second generation DOCSIS 3.0 capability, the capacity of the 16D CAMs can be increased to 32 Annex B or 24 Annex A downstream channels.  This increase in capacity further underscores the tremendous investment protection and lowest overall total cost of ownership that ARRIS provides cable operators who have selected the C4 CMTS for their IP networking needs.  ARRIS provides a comprehensive program to simplify the process of upgrading existing 16D CAMs to the XD CAM.  

ARRIS is also announcing C4 software release 7.4, which provides IPv6 support as well as support for DOCSIS 3.0 Multicast traffic.  All these new features build on the highly reliable C4 architecture with its industry-leading redundancy.  Operators will be able to deploy IPv6 with confidence and, by combining Multicast IP Video with DOCSIS 3.0 channel bonding, will be able to deliver IP Video in the most efficient way possible.

UPC Broadband, a division of Liberty Global, Europe's largest cable operator and a long-standing ARRIS customer, has been a lead innovator in the deployment of advanced high speed data services and is excited about these new product enhancements:  "The introduction of DOCSIS 3.0 services has been an incredible success for UPC and our customers, and has been essential in attracting and retaining new customers," said UPC CTO Eric Lennon.  "We look forward to further improvements in our High Speed Data Service as it is critical we maintain our lead in this competitive environment. The ARRIS C4 CMTS has performed very well, and this new release will provide substantial additional capacity as well as critical features such as IPv6."

"We believe this is extremely good news for our existing and future C4 customer base as the total cost of ownership of a C4 is improved every time we extend its capacity and density," said ARRIS Broadband Communications Systems President Bruce McClelland.  "The XD CAM is a highly cost effective way to double downstream capacity without significant service disruption or configuration changes, and paves the way to deliver the highest quality broadband user experience."

For more information, please visit: www.arrisi.com/get/32DCAM

About ARRIS

ARRIS is a global communications technology company specializing in the design, engineering and supply of technology that supports broadband services for residential and business customers around the world. The company supplies broadband operators with the tools and platforms they need to deliver carrier-grade telephony, network video processing, whole home video, demand driven video, next-generation advertising, network and workforce management solutions, access and transport architectures and ultra high-speed data services. Headquartered in Suwanee, Georgia, USA, ARRIS has R&D centers in Suwanee; Beaverton, OR; Chicago, IL; Kirkland, WA; State College, PA; Wallingford, CT; Waltham, MA; Cork, Ireland; and Shenzhen, China, and operates support and sales offices throughout the world. Information about ARRIS products and services can be found at www.arrisi.com.

SOURCE ARRIS