nbn has been granted membership of global cable research and development body CableLabs – becoming the first cable network operator in the Oceania region to be admitted to the prestigious not-for-profit organisation.

Founded in 1988 by U.S. and Canadian cable network operators, CableLabs has been the driving force behind crucial technological advances in the global cable market that help deliver better services for end users.

nbn will become the 56th member of CableLabs joining U.S. giants such as Comcast, Charter, Altice and Cox Communications as well as International titans  Liberty Global (Europe, Caribbean, Latin America), Jupiter Telecom (Japan), Shaw Communications (Canada), Rogers Communications (Canada) and Vodafone (Germany).

The rollout of the nbn™ access network sets the scene for the biggest transformation to Australia’s telecommunications industry involving retail service provider network upgrades and the establishment of a network of networks to bring fast broadband to all Australians.

The CableLabs membership is a further demonstration of the company’s focus on providing technology to meet today’s demands while ensuring a strong path of development and upgrades to meet Australia’s future data demands.

CableLabs R&D work helps to bring innovative technologies such as DOCSIS 3.1 - currently delivering 1Gbps speeds to cable broadband subscribers – into the market, and the organisation is currently working on developing Full Duplex DOCSIS technology that promises symmetrical speeds of 10Gbps.

CableLabs plays a crucial role in bringing new innovations like DOCSIS 3.1 to life by inventing core technologies along with helping to align cable network operators around these new technologies and facilitating vital collaboration with technology vendors to ensure the necessary economies of scale are created.

Having been accepted as a member of CableLabs, nbn will now be part of the collaborative process that will see exciting new technologies such as Full Duplex DOCSIS come to reality.

nbn Chief Technology Officer, Dennis Steiger, said:

“nbn is delighted and honoured to have been accepted as a member of CableLabs. This is a great reflection of the work the team is doing to deliver a world class HFC network here in Australia.

“Our story here at nbn is unique globally and we are really excited about working alongside CableLabs to deliver the best HFC product in the market.

“CableLabs has been driving some amazing innovations in our industry with things like DOCSIS 3.1 and Full Duplex DOCSIS and we really look forward to being part of this organisation in the coming years.”

Phil McKinney, President & CEO of CableLabs, said:

“We are very pleased to welcome Australia’s National Broadband Network to CableLabs as our 56^th member and our first in Australia.

“As the research and development lab for the global cable industry, we are looking forward to supporting nbn’s deployment of DOCSIS 3.1 in its integrated optical fibre and coaxial cable network.

“nbn’s deployment, alongside our other members, will deliver new customer experiences that are faster and more efficient.”

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