Migration to DOCSIS 3. 1
doesn’t have to be an
upstream battle
Diamond Technology
Reviews 2015
BTR’s Diamond Technology Reviews,
now in its eleventh year, is a technology recognition program wherein
vendors serving the broadband cable
industry are invited to submit information about products that have
been released or upgraded since last
year’s SCTE Cable-Tec Expo (held in
September 2014).
We assigned each entry to at
least three of our expert volunteer
judges, listed in the box below. To
help ensure fairness, similar prod-
ucts from diferent vendors were
reviewed by the same group of pan-
elists. Judges based scores/com-
ments on written material provid-
ed by vendors, as well as their own
experience with or knowledge of the
specifc technologies.
BTR’s staf played no role in the
judging of the submitted products.
Review panelists were informed that
scores/comments would remain
anonymous.
Judges were impressed with the
feld of applicants this year, which
put forth products that included standby power solutions for
FTTH, advanced digital signal leakage detection, and cloud OTT solutions, said Tom Gorman, president of
opXL. But three companies in particular excelled and achieved the elusive designation of Five Diamonds.
“Tis speaks to the innovation
and hard work of the vendor com-
munity to meet the insatiable
demand for new applications and
service delivery methods by not just
the industry engineering commu-
nity, but cable customers as well,”
said Gorman, who spearheaded the
Diamonds this year.
In addition to industry veterans
who can be counted on for several
solid entries every year, there were
multiple newcomers, entering the
Diamonds for the frst time.
“Tis really speaks to the draw of
the cable industry to new vendors,”
Gorman said. “We’ve always been
innovators, and Expo is a place where
innovation is showcased. We always
expect Cisco and ARRIS, Alpha and
JDSU (now Viavi Solutions) to come
out with something new each year,
and they never disappoint. But then
(new companies) show up and really
shake things up.”
Te Diamonds generally refect
what the overall tenor of Expo will
be. In 2015, the name of the game
seems to be cloud services.
“As cloud services continue to
grow, the vendors to the cable indus-
try are no diferent, with solu-
tions from cloud remote control
programming to cloud DVR and
voice services,” Gorman said.
But judges are not looking for a
special theme or solution when they
consider entrants. Rather, they are
“eyes wide open,” for the Diamond
Reviews, Gorman said. “Tey are
always looking for the next big
thing, the device, software or system
that makes an operator’s life easi-
er, reduces cost or increases revenue
and is good for our customers.”
Specifcally, judges used the
following scale to determine
Diamond scores:
0-1 Useful product, yet
commodity
2-3 Solid product with viable
attributes that set it apart
4 Excellent product with
technical features and
performance that provide
clear and substantial benefts
5 Superb product that sets new
standards for performance
and provides groundbreaking
and new technical milestones
Each product’s scores were aver-
aged and rounded to the near-
est full or half Diamond. Note that
products are grouped by score
(with the highest Diamonds rank-
ing frst), and then in alphabeti-
cal order.
Scores of 3. 5 or above are considered superlative and refect a very
positive opinion from the panel.
Only products receiving a 3. 5 or
above are included in this article.
THE SHOW
CABLE-TEC EXPO ’ 15
PRODUCT NEWS
DIAMONDS JUDGES 2015 (in alphabetical order)
Ony Anglade, Principle Access Architect, Cox Communications
Jeff Chen, SVP, Advanced Technology, Bright House Networks
Michael Kelsen, Senior Director and Chief Network Architect, Time Warner Cable
Andrew Parrott, VP, Technical Operations, Suddenlink Communications
Ken Williams, Senior Director HFC Engineering, Charter Communications
Ken Wright, Principal, Wright Solutions
DIAMOND TECHNOLOGY REVIEWS ............................................... 1
BTR’S TOP 5 (OR SO) EXPO TECH TRENDS ................................... 16
SHOW FLOOR MAP............................................................................. 22
EXHIBITORS LIST................................................................................ 24
