January 13, 2004

This month Cisco Systems took another step in its commitment to bring the power of its networking expertise to cable operators. Cisco announced the debut of two products that will help cable operators more efficiently deliver video-on-demand (VOD) and other advanced interactive, multimedia services. The equipment, known as the Cisco uMG9800 Quadrature Amplitude Modulator (QAM) product series, converts Gigabit Ethernet-based digital video signals to RF (Radio Frequency) signals, which can then travel over traditional coaxial cable to TV set-top receivers. The QAM products (pronounced "kwam") benefit from Cisco's industry-leading expertise in Gigabit Ethernet technology and provide industry-leading scalability and performance.

News@Cisco recently spoke with Paul Sanchirico, senior director of the Cisco video networking business unit, about the recently announced products and how they can help cable operators lower costs while improving profitability.

What is the QAM product series and what role can it play in cable operators' networks?

Paul Sanchirico: The new QAM product series consists of the uMG9820 QAM Gateway and the uMG9850 QAM Module. Both serve as IP-to-MPEG-2 gateways between a Gigabit Ethernet transport network and a hybrid fiber/coaxial (HFC) cable network. Cable operators are increasingly turning to Gigabit Ethernet as the technology for their video infrastructure, given its management efficiencies and capacity. The digital signals carried over Gigabit Ethernet, however, must be converted to RF signals understandable to the TV set-top receivers widely used to provide cable TV to consumer homes. Our QAM product series, and QAM products in general, perform that conversion.

The uMG9820 QAM Gateway is a stand-alone, one rack-unit (RU) sized box for converting Gigabit Ethernet digital video signals to traditional analog signals. The uMG9850 QAM Module is a line card which performs the same type of conversion but functions as part of the Cisco Catalyst 4500 Switch, the most widely deployed Gigabit Ethernet switch on the market. Such integration with the Catalyst 4500 can help cable operators simplify their networks while creating a more flexible infrastructure.

How do the new QAM products from Cisco improve upon the QAM equipment currently offered by other vendors?

Paul Sanchirico: There are four key attributes to our QAM products which set them apart from current offerings. They are optimized for Gigabit Ethernet networks, high-density for VOD, modular for flexibility, and portfolio products for choice. Unlike other QAM products on the market, our QAM equipment is specifically designed to maximize the bandwidth of the Gigabit Ethernet infrastructures increasingly deployed by cable operators. Because of their high-density design, the Cisco QAM products can process the full capacity of one Gigabit Ethernet link which is up to 240 standard-definition video streams. This is significant since this has not been the case with QAM equipment from other vendors, which have forced cable operators to "daisy-chain" multiple QAM boxes together to fully utilize the bandwidth of their Gigabit Ethernet networks. Such daisy chaining, of course, increases possible failure points and management complexity.

Both of our QAM products offer cable operators a "pay as you grow" modular model. While each product is capable of processing all the bandwidth from one Gigabit Ethernet connection, cable operators can implement only as much capacity as they need and easily expand as needed without purchasing a new chassis. And between the two products, operators have the choice of using our stand-alone QAM chassis or else integrating QAM capabilities into their existing Catalyst 4500 Switches. Along with such scalability and flexibility, the Cisco QAM products provide unparalleled support for network availability. Our QAM products, for example, include hot-swappable components so operators do not have to shut down their networks to upgrade equipment.

Why is the announcement of the new QAM product series important for Cisco?

Paul Sanchirico: These products represent the next step in Cisco's support of the cable operators' core video business. We already have had great success in creating products that have helped cable operators improve their cable modem high-speed data services. And we have also developed an array of Gigabit Ethernet products to aid cable operators' VOD services.

How does the new QAM product series fit with Cisco's overall cable industry strategy?

Paul Sanchirico: Our announcement of the uMG9800 series QAM products is another step in out commitment to help cable operators build next-generation digital video networks. We launched our support for this project last May with the announcement of our VOD-Optimized Gigabit Ethernet package of products, including our Catalyst Gigabit Ethernet switches, Cisco IOS' intelligent Network Control Plane, new Dense Wave Division Multiplex (DWDM) pluggable integrated optics, and new optical filtering capabilities. At the time we said that these products were just the start of our commitment to helping cable operators develop next generation digital video networks. This latest announcement is further proof of our commitment to developing the networking equipment which let cable operators do just that.