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Leading Cable Manufacturers Join Forces to Support DVB-RCCL Standard for Cable Modems and Interactive Set-Top Boxes
October 20, 1998
Alcatel, COCOM, DiviCom, Hughes Network Systems, Nokia, Sagem, Simac, Thomson Broadcast Systems and Thomson Multimedia Team Up to Create DVB/DAVIC Interoperability Consortium
In an effort to build the market for broadband interactivity over hybrid fibre coax (HFC) networks, nine leading digital cable manufacturers today announced the formation of the DVB/DAVIC Interoperability Consortium. The stated purpose of the Consortium is to support product interoperability which enables the deployment of interactive services over HFC and LMDS networks based on the DVB-RCCL and DAVIC international standards. The Consortium was introduced today at the European Cable Communications '98 conference.
By promoting interoperability, the Consortium will provide a broader choice of solutions for operators and ultimately create economies of scale that will help expand the DVB-RCCL/DAVIC market. Members of the Consortium have agreed to develop and implement the necessary mechanisms to verify interoperability between products. Their efforts will allow cable operators to choose from a number of interoperable, multi-vendor solutions.
Three Areas of Expertise Combine
Consortium members represent three areas of digital cable implementation: headend transmission systems, set-top boxes and cable modems. The founding vendors include Alcatel, COCOM, DiviCom, Hughes Network Systems, Nokia Multimedia Network Terminals, Sagem, Simac Broadband Technologies, Thomson Broadcast Systems (a subsidiary of Thomson Multimedia), and Thomson Multimedia. This group of manufacturers has already invested time and resources in building and deploying DVB-RCCL/DAVIC based products. The Consortium is open to all DVB-RCCL/DAVIC product manufacturers.
Several Consortium members will have working DVB-RCCL/DAVIC product demonstrations at the ECC conference. These include COCOM (stand #282), DiviCom (stand #422), and SAGEM (stand #52).
The Solution of Choice
"We truly believe that DVB-RCCL/DAVIC is the best standard for the provision of products for interactive video, audio, data and voice services," said Gregers Kronborg, chairman of the newly formed DVB/DAVIC Interoperability Consortium. "Products based on DVB-RCCL can help cable operators implement new services and realize new revenues."
Kronborg continued, "The message is simple: DVB-RCCL is for real. This autumn we will see several implementations of DVB-RCCL from both operators and equipment manufacturers."
Endorsed by DVB and EuroCableLabs
"I have no doubt that the cable operators of Europe and of many other parts of the world will soon realize that DVB-RCCL will be their best choice," said Professor Ulrich Reimers, the chairman of the Technical Module of the DVB Project. Professor Reimers welcomed the manufacturer's initiative. "It has always been a tradition of our project not to create compliance test centers. I am glad to see that manufacturers have decided to foster one of our most recent DVB technologies."
"The creation of the DVB/DAVIC Interoperability Consortium is an important step for the introduction of the technology", stated a spokesperson for EuroCableLabs. "The European cable operators combined in the EuroCableLabs, have, after an in-depth study of the different systems that are available, decided to choose for the DVB/DAVIC system."
The State of the Standards
The DVB-RCCL and DAVIC 1.5 standards meet international (ITU), specific European (ETSI, and CE-marking) standardization requirements, as well as European Union directives (e.g. 95/47EC). Moreover, the ETS 300 800 standard has been selected by the ECCA EuroCableLabs as the preferred standard for cable modem applications.
The DVB/DAVIC Interoperability Consortium
Founded in October 1998, the Consortium promotes and supports product interoperability between member vendors per the DVB-RCCL/DAVIC international standards. The beneficiaries of this consortium include cable and LMDS network operators who can choose from a number of standards based solutions and their customers who can select from a wider range of service offerings. For more information contact Gregers Kronborg, at: + 45 39 55 00 00 or via e-mail: gk@cocom.dk
Abbreviations:
DVB = Digital Video Broadcasting Project, an organization committed to designing a global family of standards for digital television
DAVIC = Digital Audio Visual Council, a non-profit association creating the industry standard for end-to-end interoperability of broadcast and interactive digital audio-visual information, and of multimedia communication
DVB-RCCL = the DVB working group focused on return channel communications in cable television and LMDS systems
ETSI = European Telecommunications Standards Institute
Contact information:
Gerald Winkler, Alcatel at +49 711 82 14 2636, e-mail: gerald.winkler@alcatel.de
Gregers Kronborg, COCOM at +45 39 55 00 00, e-mail: gk@cocom.uk
Biren Sood, DiviCom at +1 408 490 6805, e-mail: bsood@divi.com
Nigel Chisnall, Hughes Network Systems at +44 1908 221122, e-mail: n_chisnall@hnsltd.hns.com
Timo Lahnalampi, Nokia Multimedia Network Terminals at +358 405 456 971, e-mail: timo.lahnalampi@mnt.nokia.com
Charles Derivaux, Sagem at +33 1 40 70 69 20, e-mail: charles.derivaux.de@sagem.com
Pim Adang, Simac Broadband Technologies at +31 (0) 40 2475411, e-mail: Pim.Adang@simac.nl
Jean-Charles Point, Thomson Broadcast Systems at +33 (0) 2 99 27 31 42, e-mail: pointjc@thmulti.com
Dietmar Biere, Thomson Multimedia at + 05 11 418 22 34, e-mail: biered@thmulti.com
For Editors: Additional Information about the DVB-RCCL Standard
The DVB-RCCL specification has been formally adopted as a standard by ETSI as ETS 300-800 and ITU-T as J 112 Annex A in March 98. The standard describes the Out of Band and In Band options applicable to interactive set-top boxes and cable modems, respectively. Moreover, the ATM and minislot capabilities of the standard allow for the deployment of interactive TV, data and voice services over the same system. ETS 300-800 has been selected by DAVIC to be the DAVIC 1.5 specification for cable modem applications.
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