At the CES tech tradeshow in Las Vegas this week NCTA, The Internet & Television Association, CableLabs and Cable Europe announced the cable industry’s vision for ‘10G’ — delivering networks that provide speeds of 10Gbps.
According to NCTA, lab trials are already underway and field trials will begin in 2020. It says that cable operators including Comcast, Charter, Cox, Vodafone, Taiwan Broadband Communications, Telecom Argentina, Liberty Global and others, are involved in the new 10G initiative.
Another G?
The cable coalition claims that 10G will offer faster speeds, more capacity, lower latency and greater security, and provide the infrastructure to support new applications and emerging technologies. Many will recognise the rhetoric from the claims made about 5G.
NCTA says it has trademarked “10G”. The term could be confusing, though, since the ‘G’ in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G has typically stood for generation, rather than gigabit – although some may welcome 10G’s more specific definition around speeds.
Mike Fries, CEO and Vice Chairman of Liberty Global, commented: “While the world is talking about 5G, we’re proud to be part of this extraordinary movement to 10G.”
Jorge Fernandes, CTIO, Rogers Communications, called 10G “an instrumental technology” for 5G, saying it will provide the backbone that connects wireless, broadband and enterprise networks.
Leveraging cable
NCTA President and CEO Michael Powell, said: “With groundbreaking, scalable capacity and speeds, the 10G platform is the wired network of the future that will power the digital experiences and imaginations of consumers for years to come. As an industry, we are dedicated to delivering an exceptional national infrastructure that will power digital advancement and propel our innovation economy into the future.”
The 10G network will leverage existing cable networks already deployed throughout North America, Europe and Asia, NCTA says. Intel will provide technology for the initiative, including network infrastructure and home gateways.