CableLabs is all set to release specifications for DOCSIS Provisioning of EPON (DPoE) for Business Services. When delivering IP and Ethernet services, the DPoE specifications will give cable operators a common method of using DOCSIS back office specifications and service concepts to provision and operate EPON-based (Ethernet Passive Optical Network) products.

In a press release, Robert Harris, VP of Network Planning and Architecture for Time Warner Cable, said, “Time Warner Cable, Comcast (News - Alert) and Bright House have strongly supported this endeavor, along with the supplier community, and we are accelerating finalization of this first set of specifications for DPoE. It became apparent to us, while working on EPON interoperability, that we had already solved the problem of multi-vendor interoperability when we developed the DOCSIS specifications.”

In a statement, Shamim Akhtar, director of Network Architecture and Engineering at Comcast Cable Communications, said, “The DPoE specification effort capitalizes on cable operators’ existing back office infrastructure, provisioning, and operational processes from the DOCSIS network, offering a much higher level of service velocity and scaling of commercial services over IEEE (News - Alert) standards-based EPON while making an efficient use of outside plant fiber assets.”

Cable industry goals for future versions of the DPoE specifications will be to add additional features and functionality to DPoE technology that will allow support of a greater variety of data and voice services in the commercial space.

Craig Cowden, corporate VP of Network Engineering and Operations at Bright House Networks, said, “We’ve embraced DOCSIS and EPON technologies and are focused on delivering IP and MEF (News - Alert) based services for business and commercial applications. The DPoE specifications give us the ability to support multiple products and services based on those foundations.”

Apart from CableLabs participation in this initiative, Broadcom, Hitachi (News - Alert)-CTA, ZTE and Finisar (formerly Broadway Networks) also serve as vendor members of the development team, and were also directly involved in writing the DPoE specifications.

Cable Television Laboratories was founded in 1988 by members of the cable television industry. It is a non-profit research and development consortium that is dedicated to pursuing new cable telecommunications technologies and to helping its cable operator members integrate those advancements into their business objectives. Cable operators from around the world are members.