Cisco introduced a high density, economical line card named uBR-MC3GX60V (3G60) Broadband Processing Engine, for its flagship uBR10012 Universal Broadband Router and Cable Modem Termination System.

With 72 DOCSIS downstream and 60 upstream channels per card, the uBR-MC3X60V BPE sets a new benchmark for scalable, reliable, and cost-effective DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem termination system (CMTS) solutions, Cisco stated.

To test the new 3G60 line card, Cisco is working with several major global service provider customers, including Comcast, Cox (News - Alert) Communications and others. Cable operators can now deliver 10 times the performance, at one-tenth the cost that current DOCSIS 2.0 solutions can with this new technology, Cisco (News - Alert) stated. Lowering the cost and environmental overhead for all service, the 3G60 will help cable operators use universal-edge quadrature amplitude modulation, or QAM, products with more channels per port.

“As cable operators are working to support more content choices on more devices, it is critical to be able to offer a personalized consumer experience that includes both managed and unmanaged services,” said Mark Palazzo, vice president and general manager of the Cable Access Business Unit at Cisco, in a press release. “With new IP technologies like the 3G60 line card, we are enabling service providers to rapidly deliver enhanced interactive services.”

To boost overall bandwidth capacity and alleviate high-traffic network pressures, the new Cisco uBR-MC3GX60V Broadband Processing Engine provides 72 downstream and 60 upstream channels with full DOCSIS 3.0 capabilities per module. While the customers can install the card and pay only for the channels they use, the upstream and downstream channels on the 3G60 can be provisioned via software licensing.

Recently, a report from Infonetics (News - Alert) Research stated that Cisco led cable broadband equipment market to strong second quarter Infonetics recently released its second quarter CMTS and Edge QAM Hardware and Subscribers report, which tracks cable modem termination systems, edge quadrature amplitude modulation channels, and cable broadband subscribers. Cisco said cable operators continue to add both downstream and upstream capacity for DOCSIS 3.0 and some early IPTV (News - Alert) deployments in Europe.