CableLabs Creates Integrated Test Program For Certification/Qualification.

Business Editors & Technology Writers

LOUISVILLE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 8, 2002

To enable suppliers to get their products to market faster, CableLabs(R) will consolidate certification testing for three projects. The consolidation will expand CableLabs successful cable modem test program to include devices that seek compliance with specifications for PacketCable(TM) and CableHome(TM).

This step will enable a test program in 2003 capable of evaluating a wide array of broadband products, including newly emerging products for cable Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) and for cable in-home networking, while still continuing the successful DOCSIS(TM) program for new and existing cable modem and cable modem termination system (CMTS) equipment.

The new test plan is accompanied by lower charges for certification testing of most devices. In some cases, such as certification of integrated devices, fees will fall by as much as 60% compared with existing certification charges. In the case of cable modems, the fee for certification will decline by about 25%. The cost of qualifying a CMTS will remain unchanged.

CableLabs has conducted a certification and qualification program since March 1998 for cable modems and respective headend equipment under the program known as Data over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS(TM)). To date hundreds of modems have been certified for retail sale and dozens of CMTSs have been qualified as complying with DOCSIS specifications.

The technical test capability, program management, and highly successful logistics that have enabled DOCSIS certification to succeed will now be put to work on devices for PacketCable(TM), a CableLabs-led initiative aimed at helping cable systems to deliver advanced, real-time IP-based services, such as voice and multimedia, and CableHome(TM), which address interoperable home networking efforts.

CableLabs certification/qualification process enables broadband service providers to develop products that conform to a common platform that is based upon CableLabs' specifications. CableLabs works with hundreds of suppliers worldwide who seek to have their products comply with its specifications for deployment in the cable broadband market. Certification testing is for products that may be sold to consumers at retail outlets, such as cable modems, multimedia terminal adapters, and residential gateways, while qualification testing is for devices that cable operators would purchase for deployment in their broadband networks, such as CMTSs and call management servers.

"We believe that our consolidated certification/qualification program will help us get more products into the cable broadband marketplace even more quickly," said CableLabs President and CEO Dr. Richard R. Green. "In reducing this time-to-market, we help our members better serve their customers and drive more broadband deployment," Green added.

Responding to requests from suppliers, CableLabs also has significantly expanded the certification/qualification testing program. Under the new program, CableLabs will conduct three 12-week waves of testing for new entrants into the certification/qualification program, as well as 9 four-week waves for a limited number of previously certified or qualified products. These shorter waves initially will be available to DOCSIS(TM) 1.0 products that have undergone minor changes, and will offer the same level of compliance assurance.

"Our modem and CMTS suppliers have been asking for fewer waves and more time between waves in order to allow them to fix problems that they discover during a certification wave," said Rouzbeh Yassini, Senior Executive Consultant to CableLabs in charge of the cable modem and CableHome(TM) projects. "These important changes also will allow our experienced CableLabs team to give suppliers more support in troubleshooting problems," while the 9 shorter waves will allow faster time-to-market for minor changes to already certified and qualified products, added Yassini, who also is the CEO of YAS Broadband Ventures LLC.

CableLabs is a research and development consortium of worldwide cable television system operators. CableLabs plans and funds research and development projects that will help cable companies take advantage of future opportunities and meet future challenges in the cable television industry. It also transfers relevant technologies to member companies and to the industry.

In addition, CableLabs acts as a clearinghouse to provide information on current and prospective technological developments that are of interest to the cable industry. CableLabs maintains Web sites at www.cablelabs.com; www.packetcable.com; www.cablemodem.com; www.cablenet.org; and www.opencable.com.