Harmonic delivers CCAP NSG Pro

Harmonic is launching its CCAP platform, the NSG Pro at the SCTE Cable-Tec expo next week.

The NSG Pro offers high-density Universal EdgeQAM capabilities and an upgrade path to future integrated Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) capabilities, according to Harmonic.

Conforming to CCAP specifications, NSG Pro offers cable operators the easiest path to full CCAP by supporting Universal EdgeQAM capabilities today and integrated CMTS capabilities in the future via line cards that can be added to the same chassis.

According to Gil Katz, director of cable solutions, Harmonic has focused on the downstream elements of the CCAP specification in the first instance as this is what service providers are asking for. “The CCAP spec has many features and over 1,000 requirements. We looked at the seven or eight most important ones,” he said. Density was important, he said, and the Harmonic implementation was based on providing 64 narrowcast QAMs per port. The ability to replicate linear broadcast line-ups for each node group was evident, as was the ability to deliver low power consumption per port, he said.

Harmonic’s initial product will not have full CMTS capability. “The product was designed in a cost-effective way to be competitive with all EdgeQAMs. It has the horsepower to do the full CMTS functionality at a later phase. Our customers’ needs today are [to solve the] bottleneck downstream for on-demand video and data,” said Katz. “We can implement two-way capability when they need it. Most CMTSs today have three upstream ports that are not being used. We don’t have urgency for upstream today because it’s not a bottleneck.”

Harmonic is producing a 9RU device, which Katz said was the right size to address the needs of operators both in the US and Europe. The first release of the product supports US requirements with a version to support European requirements set to come out early next year.

The NSG Pro builds on Harmonic’s existing Hecta QAM solution which was designed as a turnkey solution to help operators solve an immediate downstream bandwidth crunch. However the Hecta QAM provides a maximum of 36 QAMs per port in the US and 28 in Europe.