Broadband Cable Access

The cable industry in Europe and various other regions of the world has already widely deployed broadband cable television Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) data networks. The industry is now deploying Internet Protocol (IP) voice and other time-critical multimedia services over these broadband cable television networks.

The focus of the work is on IPCablecom, a set of higher layer (implementation) protocols and associated element functional requirements. IPCablecom has been developed to deliver Quality of Service (QoS) enhanced secure IP multimedia time critical communications services, including telephony, using packetized data transmission technology to homes and businesses over the broadband cable television HFC data network.

IPCablecom builds upon digital cable modem architectures specified in ITU Recommendation J.112 that was developed for global use. It overlays lower-layer protocols such as DOCSIS, the European variant EuroDOCSIS, and the return channel for Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) by cable. The system has found wide international support from standards organizations that include ETSI, the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The Working Group AT3 (integrated broadband cable and television networks) in TC ATTM is responsible for the creation, development and maintenance of Standards and other ETSI deliverables related to integrated broadband cable and television networks Technologies.

Regional standards

For historical reasons, telecommunications networks and services differ to some extent from one region of the world to another. Since IPCablecom and DOCSIS are based on specifications originated in the United States, there is a need to make some adaptations to suit local requirements. However, the cable industry is a global market and therefore regional standards have to align to the extent possible with standards either already developed or under development in other regions.

Particular topics that have needed to be addressed in Europe, as they differ from the United States, include: analogue telephony support, interfacing with ISDN, security and lawful interception.

ETSI's role is to develop specifications for IPCablecom that are consistent to the extent possible with the CableLabs/PacketCable set of specifications as published by the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE). The SCTE has approved IPCablecom documents as a standard to be used throughout North and South America.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has approved the majority of these documents for worldwide use. ETSI has cooperation agreements with the SCTE and the ITU and produces European standards with global relevance much like the SCTE does for North America. ETSI's work has resulted in a series of IPCablecom specifications that refer to recommendations produced by ITU Study Group 9 relating to IP Cable Communication.

The agreement between ETSI and SCTE seeks to ensure, where appropriate, that the releases of PacketCable and IPCablecom set of specifications are aligned and to avoid unnecessary duplication. 

A new Working Group, AT3, was formed in TC ATTM in July 2009 to be responsible for the creation, development and maintenance of Standards and other ETSI deliverables related to integrated broadband cable and television networks Technologies. AT3 will produce

• specifications of integrated broadband cable and television network terminals, including e.g. cable CPE devices and network terminating devices
• Specifications of integrated broadband cable and television access network topology and functional       requirements, including HFC (hybrid fibre-coax) network distribution
• Specifications for integrated broadband cable and television network infrastructure, including network topologies, DOCSIS, and frequency management
• Specifications for integrated broadband cable and television services

Specifications and reports

ETSI Technical Specifications TS 102 639 series define the third generation of radio-frequency interface specifications for high-speed data-over-cable systems in Europe. This series are be based on, but not limited to, ITU-T SG9 J.222 Recommendation and include definition of PHY (physical), Security services and MAC and Upper Layer Protocol Interfaces for a third generation transmission system for IP cable modems. This third generation provides for advanced features including the ability to bond multiple channels together and support for IP version 6, while maintaining backwards compatibility with the first generation [ES 201 488] and second generation [ES 202 488]. This particular part provides an overview of the set of documents and describes the general scope of the work.